Genarlow Wilson

If this doesn't bring JanieBelle out of her hiatus I don't know what will!

MSNBC reports that Georgia's Supreme Court orders Genarlow Wilson's release.

Wilson has been imprisoned for two and a half years after being convicted of aggrevated child molesting because he had consensual oral sex with a 15 year old girl when he was 17. His crime came to light during the investigation of a rape that occured at a New Year's Eve party, and while he was acquitted of the rape he was seen on video tape engaged in illegal but consensual sex with a girl who was 15. Neither the girl nor her mother supported the prosecution of Wilson, and later the Georgia legislature changed its own laws so that the crime that Wilson committed would in the future be considered a misdemeanor rather than a felony. They did not make the new law retroactive, though. (If he'd been convicted under the new law he would have served no more than 12 months, and possibly less.)

For past Sex in the Public Square posts on the Genarlow Wilso case, click here.

In a good news/even-more-stupid news situation, Atlanta TV station WGCL brings us two updates in the Genarlow Wilson case.

First, yesterday the state Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision and has decided to expedite two appeals by Genarlow Wilson.

In the ongoing travesty that is the Genarlow Wilson case, a rally was held in Douglasville, GA Thursday which drew the Reverend Al Sharpton, among other Civil Rights leaders, and Sharpton did not mince words.

Via CNN:

A quick update from this morning's new York Times on stories we've been following here and on my WordPress blog:

Genarlow Wilson was denied bond in his habeas corpus appeal. The NYT reports in its National Briefings section that "The judge, David Emerson, of Superior Court in Douglas County, ruled that Genarlow Wilson, 21, is not eligible for bail because hew as conficed to aggravated child molestation, a crime that is considered on of the 'seven deadly sins' under Georgia law."

You'll remember that his aggrevated child molestation convicton comes because of an act of consensual oral sex with a 15 year old when he was 17. I'll leave it to JanieBelle to comment on the use of phrases like 'seven deadly sins.'

Read the full article at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The latest details to emerge in the Genarlow Wilson case certainly don't do much for the image of Georgia's Attorney General or his conduct in this travesty.

Apparently, although neither the girl involved with Genarlow nor her mother wished to press any charges under Georgia's Dark-Age-esque anti-sex law, a visit from the AG's office and a threat to the mother's parental rights fixed things in a hurry.

Highlights of the AP story:

ATLANTA (AP) -- The mother of a then-15-year-old girl in a highly publicized teen sex case told a newspaper that the boy involved should not have been criminally charged, but she changed her statement a day later after a visit from prosecutors, the newspaper said Thursday.

Lawyer B.J. Bernstein, who represents the young man, Genarlow Wilson, called the prosecution's visit "pure intimidation."

There's been a lot of interest in the Genarlow Wilson case on my wordpress blog. I wonder if we can start a thread here where people can discuss their questions, frustrations, and perhaps even other similar cases (if we know of any).

I, for one, am especially frustrated right now by the apparent poor judgement by the judge who revised Wilson's sentence yesterday. The question before him was a habeas corpos question, and that wouldn't seem to allow for a revision of the sentence but only for a vacating of the sentence. Why would a judge who apparently believed that tremendous injustice had been done make such lame decision? Why didn't he just toss out the original sentence altogether as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual? Are there lawyers (or even judges!)who can speculate on this? Anyone? 

Here are some links to a couple of blog posts on the recent development. 

My post on Sexinthepublicsquare.wordpress.com 

JanieBelle on UDOJ 

The New York Times had two important editorials in the past three days dealing with important issues of sex and policy.

Today's took up the case, again, of Genarlow Wilson, the young man in Georgia who is still serving time in prison for the consensual oral sex he had when he was 17 with a girl who was two years younger. Specifically, the Times chastises the DA in the case for continuing to focus on the rape that occured at that party (of which Wilson was acquitted) and even circulating the video tape that was made of the rape, as part of his lobbying effort against Genarlow Wilson's release.