Better Late Than Never

Justice is slow, but sometimes it comes around. This morning, the Georgia Supreme court finally put an end to Genarlow Wilson's nightmare and ordered his release.

For those who aren't familiar with the case, Genarlow Wilson was convicted in 2005. It seems that young Genarlow, at the age of 17, attended a New Year's Eve party in 2003, where he received oral sex from a 15-year-old girl and had sex with another 17-year-old girl. In true sign-of-the-times fashion, these sex acts were caught on tape, which proved to be both a blessing and a curse when both girls later cried rape. The young Mr. Wilson's claim that the sex was consensual was corroborated by the videotape, and he was acquitted of the rape against the 17-year-old. Unfortunately for Genarlow, the age of consent in the state of Georgia is 16. So, because there was video evidence of his sex act with the 15-year-old, although clearly consensual, he was charged and convicted of aggravated child molestation, a felony at the time which carried a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence.

Now, far be it for me to point out the two-ton elephant in the room, but one should definitely note that Genarlow Wilson was an honor student and star athlete at the time. He is also African-American. Both of the girls who he was accused of assaulting are White, as is the prosecutor in the case. I bring that up because it's a factor, not only because the prosecutor's office believed these girls despite clear evidence to the contrary but also in the prosecutor's decision to charge a 17-year-old with molesting a "child" less than 2 years younger than him. Would the case have even escalated to that point if the young man in question had been White? Call me a cynic if you must, but i seriously doubt it. Prosecutorial discretion would probably have prevailed in that situation.

For the record, the prosecutor did offer a deal shortly after a judges decision earlier this year to reduce this kid's sentence to 12 months and free him (the state's appeal of that decision is what necessitated today's ruling). They offered to reduce the charge so that he would not have to be labeled as a sex offender. The reduced charge would have carried a 10-year sentence also, but he would only have to serve five with credit for the two he has already served. Thanks, but no thanks.

Georgia's law has since been changed so as not to affect kids so close in age. It came too late to help Genarlow Wilson, who missed out on his college scolarship because of this.

Anyway, this should be a lesson to all young boys (and girls) about discretion. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should (this also applies to Kobe Jellybean Bryant, for the record). But I am glad that Genarlow is finally free.

Read more about the court's decision here.