Georgia Supreme Court Frees Genarlow Wilson

This is good news Elizabeth. Sometimes the law is an ass.

Yeah, thanks for good news Elizabeth.

Finally common sense prevails! It's a sad state of affairs when the legal system is abused for the sole purpose of some-body's offended moral standard. The community standard should be the guideline for these types of cases... teenagers perform consensual sex acts all the time, have been since well before the start of the baby boomer generation. If they were to be arrested for "sex crimes" and put in jail there'd be no room for the real criminals.

Now non- consensual sex deserves severe punishment, particularly if a minor is involved!

We really have to rethink our current mentality about sex laws. Certainly, two teenagers having consensual sex is not as serious as an adult male having sex with an underage female. This case is just ridiculous. The system is too bent on charging youth with a felony if they can get away with it and not interested in serving people's needs.

I'm glad someone finally came to their senses about this case. It's sad that this man lost two years of his life to incarceration.

Finally a bit of commons sense. SOmetimes the law goes too far and still falls short! Ever here of the case where a 5 year old kindergarten student was accused of being a "sex offender" when he kissed a 5 year old gilr in his class under the zero tolerance mandate he would have kept that lable for life!

I am glad this young man is free but sorry for his loss of youth and innoncence not to mention two years of his lie. That can never be returned!

Too bad they can't give him back his two years.

If this case stood, then I should be spending several consecutive life sentences behind bars for consensual sex I had when I was underage.

Glad he's out. What was the crime, statutory rape? Is it statutory rape when both parties are under the legal age? Are both subject to prosecution?

Thank God. What a travesty that poor kid was ever treated so horribly. Aren't there enough people in the world whose lives really ARE toast already? Do we have to take a perfectly normal young man and forcibly turn his life into toast, too? How did anyone even find out about his personal life, especially if the girl was on his side?

This is one of those cases that never made sense from day one. The alleged "victim" and her family never even pressed charges and have supported him getting out of jail. This is an example of a third party getting involved in something that wasn't there business. Those kids needed a good sit down discussion with responsible adults regarding appropriate behavior, but prison? We don't have enough real criminals running around, so we have to throw teenagers with overactive libidos in jail.

This was a disgrace. Thank God it's finally over, except that poor guy has to carry around two years of jail the rest of his life.

Sometimes justice does work .

Good to see that the Georgia Supreme Court did something sensible. Locking up teenagers for having consensual sex? Better build more prisons!

The crime was felony child molestation. It never made sense from the very beginning. Add a vengeful prosecutor and you have a student athlete's life ruined forever.

The problem with this situation was the outdated laws that were still on the books. Looks like a Judge of the Georgia Supreme Court had enough common sense to see through this. Too bad that Wilson had to serve time in the first place. Let's just hope that his experience hasn't had a negative impact on his future, which is often the case.

"The crime was felony child molestation. It never made sense from the very beginning. Add a vengeful prosecutor and you have a student athlete's life ruined forever."

That's just stupid. I understand that they've since changed the law, but that they wouldn't make it retroactive to let him out of prison, and that it's still a crime (a misdemeanor) for teens to have consensual sex (including oral). That's totally freaking lame!

Any chance all the "what part of illegal do you not understand" folks in Georgia and other states with these sorts of stupid laws are turning themselves in if they ever went past second base before they turned 18? Bet not. *wink*

Consensual sex shouldn't be a crime.

" The problem with this situation was the outdated laws that were still on the books."

He was found guilty of violating the 1995 Child Protection Act. It's not like 1995 was the Dark Ages or anything.

But you're right about it being too bad that he had to serve time in the first place. Even after they changed the law, he still could've been sentenced to a year in prison.

" He was found guilty of violating the 1995 Child Protection Act. It's not like 1995 was the Dark Ages or anything. "

Nah, 1995 wasn't the dark ages, but then again it was 12 years ago.

" Even after they changed the law "

So if the law wasn't outdated, then why did they change it?

Just wondering...when I actually agree with you on a subject, why to you still insist on arguring with me and try to prove me wrong?

And also, the average middle class working American doesn't have access to the information that you do, nor the time to do the research that you do. The only people who have time to do that kind of research as well as having access to that kind of information would be people who's job is to do such..that would include lawyers, journalists, polititians or lobyists ect. Also, considering that you live in Australia, the times that you post lead people to believe that you are doing your job by commenting here on Gather, otherwise you are cheating your employer by playing on the internet while you are supposed to be working. So which of those catagories do you fall under?

It's hard to say there wasn't a whiff of racism here.

"Nah, 1995 wasn't the dark ages, but then again it was 12 years ago."

And he was convicted 4 years ago, which meant the law was 8 years old at the time. Hardly an outdated law that was still on the books.

"So if the law wasn't outdated, then why did they change it?"

Probably because it was a stupid law.

"Just wondering...when I actually agree with you on a subject, why to you still insist on arguring with me and try to prove me wrong?"

I'm not arguing with you or trying to prove you wrong. I thought your statement about it being an outdated law still on the books made it sound like an old, forgotten law (like it being illegal to wear a top hat on a streetcar before 5 pm on a Thursday or something) and I happened to know that wasn't the case, so I posted it so people reading and participating in this discussion didn't get the wrong idea.

"And also, the average middle class working American doesn't have access to the information that you do, nor the time to do the research that you do."

Most of my "research" involves using Google and takes a few minutes at most. Occasionally, my "research" involves using the public library. I also have access to several university libraries, although I don't think I've used them for any "research" specifically related to any Gather articles or discussions I've been involved in. Most average, middle class working Americans (like myself) have access to all of those information sources.

"The only people who have time to do that kind of research as well as having access to that kind of information would be people who's job is to do such..that would include lawyers, journalists, polititians or lobyists ect. Also, considering that you live in Australia, the times that you post lead people to believe that you are doing your job by commenting here on Gather, otherwise you are cheating your employer by playing on the internet while you are supposed to be working. So which of those catagories do you fall under?"

None of them, Tim. I don't get paid to post here on Gather (other than with Gather Points just like you and everybody else), and I don't play on the Internet when I'm supposed to be working.

I think you're whole premise is wrong, Tim. Lots of average, middle class working Americans know how to do a little research and check the facts before they post here at Gather. Not just lawyers, journalists, or lobbyists. Often it's not difficult, or time-consuming. Just a quick search using Google, Yahoo, or another search engine, a few clicks, and a few minutes of reading. How easy is that?

" It's hard to say there wasn't a whiff of racism here."

You think maybe some of the good people of the state Georgia thought a 10-year prison sentence might have to do now that the godless liberals make such a fuss when they use the Hanging Tree?

I'd like to think that things aren't like that any more. I'd like to think that the jury considered the facts of the case, and brought a guilty verdict because Genarlow Wilson had broken the letter, if not the spirit, of the law as it was then written, and the jury thought they were doing the right thing. Apparently the forewoman was crying as she announced the jury's verdict, even though at that point they didn't know about the mandatory 10-year minimum sentence.

I'd like to think there was no racism involved when the Georgia state legislature decided to change the law (because it was stupid), but not to make it retroactive so that Genarlow Wilson would be allowed out of prison. If there were other reasons for making that decision, I'd love to hear them.

But it gets harder to believe that race didn't play a part when the Georgia Supreme Court got involved. I guess maybe it was just a coincidence that the first time Genarlow's case came before them, the four white judges voted against him, and the three black judges voted in his favor.

But if race did play a role in the case of Genarlow Wilson and his buddies, I think there was a lot more to it than just race. Stupid laws, mandatory sentences, an imperfect justice system, the politics of prosecution, etc. In the end, I'm glad that all those things were overcome, and that Genarlow is out of prison. I hope what happened to him doesn't screw up the rest of his life.

I found a great article about Genarlow's case at ESPN.com written before the Georgia Supreme Court stepped up and did the right thing.

Wow, the minute I brought up racism, I got my first DB-1s. Is it so hard to talk about this on Gather?

It was high time to free this young man, but yes, based on the new law, there are still an awful lot of misdemeanors taking place in Georgia....

The age of consent in Georgia is 16, so I think the young man was considered an adult molesting a child without the Romeo and Juliet clause.

There was more wrong with the law: the "child molestation" was apparently "aggravated" because they had "non-reproductive sex". If it had been regualar intercourse, it would have been a misdemeanor only under the old law too (though perhaps using contraception should make it aggravated then? The mind boggles.)

"Consensual sex shouldn't be a crime."
ALL sex should be a crime! Nasty, dirty, shameful and icky! NOBODY should ever "do it"! Especially young people, with all that juicy tumescent throbbing and heaving and moaning... Disgusting!

The fact that this young man went to jail for this just burns me. Law enforcement needs to be out catching real criminals not 2 teenagers in love.

Someone once said, " Christianity taught two things about sex: One was it wasthe most vile, disgusting, and immoral act a person could do that was brought on by giving into animal instinct and that anyone doing it would burn in hell forever.

The second was that a person ought to save it for marriage.