Ga. Teen Still Jailed, Despite Court Order

State's Appeal Means Man Who Had Consensual Oral Sex As A Teen Is Still In Prison

(CBS/AP)  Genarlow Wilson's joy was short-lived.

One minute,a judge ordered him released from prison , saying the young man's 10-year sentence for consensual sex between teens was a "grave miscarriage of justice." Ninety minutes later, Georgia's attorney general said Wilson wasn't going anywhere — the state had appealed.

On Tuesday, Wilson's attorney was fighting to at least get him released on bond during the appeal process. He is now 21 and has been behind bars for more than 28 months.

"Yesterday, they did not consent to a bond," attorney B.J. Bernstein said Tuesday morning. "We are hopeful to hurry up and get in front of a judge — one, to get him out pending an appeal, but even more importantly, to get this madness over with."

"It’s not saying we endorse teenage sex," Bernstein told CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann. "but teenage consensual sex that wrecks a teenager's life."

Bernstein told CNN she was seeking a hearing in Douglas County court, where Wilson was convicted, even though the district attorney there opposes his release.

Wilson became a symbol for extreme cases of getting tough on sex offenders when he was sentenced to the mandatory 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl in 2003. Wilson was 17 at the time.

If he had instead had sexual intercourse with the teen, he would have fallen under Georgia's "Romeo and Juliet" exception. But under the law in 2003, oral sex for teens still constituted aggravated child molestation and carried a mandatory sentence, plus listing on the sex offender registry.

Lawmakers last year voted to close that loophole, but the state's top court said the new law could not be applied retroactively to Wilson's case.

"As far as I'm concerned, this case is a throwback to Southern justice," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat and one of several prominent supporters who have rallied to Wilson's cause.

Opponents of Wilson's release said it could lead to similar legal challenges. Georgia prisons currently hold 189 inmates who were sentenced for aggravated child molestation when they were 21 or younger.

In his ruling Monday, Judge Thomas H. Wilson, no relation to Genarlow Wilson, amended that sentence to misdemeanor aggravated child molestation with a 12-month term, plus credit for time served. The habeas corpus hearing was held in his Monroe County court because Genarlow Wilson is imprisoned in Monroe County.

"The fact that Genarlow Wilson has spent two years in prison for what is now classified as a misdemeanor, and without assistance from this court, will spend eight more years in prison, is a grave miscarriage of justice," the judge wrote. "If this court or any court cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish ... justice being served in a fair and equal manner."

In his notice of appeal, Attorney General Thurbert Baker argued that Georgia law does not give a judge authority to reduce or modify the sentence imposed by the trial court.

He said he would seek an expedited ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court. And he noted that a plea deal is on the table that would spring Wilson in a maximum of five years and also remove him from the sex offender registry.

That isn't good enough, Bernstein says.

"It is really ridiculous when you consider that we had a judge that just said it is a misdemeanor that carries no sex offender registration," she said. "It is extremely, extremely disturbing that the attorney general would take this action now."

A jury in 2005 found Wilson guilty of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl during a 2003 New Year's Eve party involving alcohol and marijuana. Although the sex act was consensual, it was illegal under Georgia law.

Wilson also was charged with rape for being one of several male partygoers at the Douglas County hotel to have sex with another 17-year-old girl, but was acquitted. The party was captured on a videotape that was played for the jury. Five other male partygoers took plea deals in the case. One has been released from prison and is now in college.

"He always talks about how if he could turn back the hands of time, he would have never been in the vicinity," Wilson's mother told Strassmann.

"I think he's certainly going to be changed," Bernstein said of her client Tuesday. "But fortunately, Genarlow has been taking this time in prison and reading like crazy.

"He wants to speak out to young people about realizing that when you party and carry on, you've got consequences sometimes grater than you realize. I think because of his extraordinary personality, he'll be OK, but I don't want this to happen to any other kid. It's crazy."

[jennasmith2]

if we locked up every teenager who has had sexual relations our schools would be almost empty and our jails overfowing!!!!!!!

[jimibear]

This is such a ridiculous, hypocritical,puritan society. This guy's been in jail for 2 years because, as a young, unmarried male, he got consensual head from a young woman 2 years his junior.

Meanwhile, the so-called president bankrupts the country and wages an illegal war which murders thousands, and he remains unindicted.

This country is phuckt.

[dkhill108]

If we incarcerated all who commit CRIMINAL ACTS(whether or not you or I agree that what he did was WRONG, it was at the time under Georgia LAW a CRIME) then maybe crime rates would drop. Ever considered that?

[gunnerv1]

Jimibear; what would you say if it was your daughter giving the BJ?

[last121868]

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
I faxed him my opinion this morning.....

[grammawhamma]

Huh?? The Romeo and Juliet exception for intercourse....but oral is punishable by ten years. I don't understand this. I was raised by strict Catholic parents. I was expected to remain a virgin until marriage and birth control was of course forbidden. Oral is what us strict little Catholics did. BTW...when I moved out of my parents house I also left the Catholic church. This guy needs to be let out of prision. How come the girl was not arrested also?? The state of Georgia owes him an apology and a college education.

[knyghtwolf]

My daughter is dating a young man who is 15 and attends her high school, she is 17 & will be 18 in September. I am not encouraging her to break up with the young man, I am advising her to exercise caution. The guy lives with his father and does not like his mother but that would still not stop her from reeking havoc on our family if she chose to do so. The father is fine with it as well. We do not live in Georgia but a northern state close to the Great Lake regions. This is soooooo stupid. With all the *** going down in this culture of ours, we find time to prosecute a child yet let a warmongering madman tear down the walls of our great nation and allow paragons of illegal activities continue to undermine our very economic foundations.

[remmeler]

It is just another example of oue broken justice system. It reminds me of a case where a girl was in prison for years because her boyfriend had over a certain amount of drugs in her car which was unknown to her. I think that was in a southern state also. It's a good thing it wasn't a white girl. The redneck attorney general would probably want to lynch him.

[gunownerdan]

Attorney General Thurbert Baker should be sent to jail for 10 years along with Bill Clinton.

[teeus]

Meanwhile the F*U*C*K*E*D*U*P Liberals are surrendering the United States to Islam or Mexico or both.
Posted by gunnerv1

Okay, you're going to have to do better than that.

At least try to link your one-trick-pony-rant to the topic at hand.

Begone, troll.

[deadanimal]

Jimibear; what would you say if it was your daughter giving the BJ?
Posted by gunnerv1 at 02:53 PM : Jun 12, 2007

Though I can't answer for Jimibear, I will say that I have a little girl and, while it sends chills down my spine and makes me physically ill to think of her being sexually active at 15, I do think that sending a 17 year old to prison for 10 years for having CONSENSUAL "relations" with another teen is ridicululous.

[connapa]

Inundate the governor's office with messages calling for him to pardon the kid. Let's put this kid's nightmare to an end.

[mikealford3]

The DA is as stupid as the one at Duke !!!
Posted by FARTKNOCKER2 at 03:00 PM : Jun 12, 2007

This DA is not the most intellengent but, I must disagree, Mike Nifong bring a whole new
class and level of stupidity to the world. Nifong's trial has started and soon those young men he accused and bashed will be testifying against him.


Regardless of the consent, the fact the boys video taped everything is sickening.

[ov442]

Whats the matter with these prosecuters, spending all this time, effort and money to oppose this rediculous issue's ruling by a common sense judge?

"In his notice of appeal, Attorney General Thurbert Baker argued that Georgia law does not give a judge authority to reduce or modify the sentence imposed by the trial court.

He said he would seek an expedited ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court. And he noted that a plea deal is on the table that would spring Wilson in a maximum of five years and also remove him from the *** offender registry."
NO WHERE does the DA or Prosecuter offer a Compelling reason anywhere to keep this kid in jail, except the legal Technicalities he is trying so hard to use to keep this kid incarcerated. Man!@!! INSANITY Let the kid out, get his diploma, move on and have a chance at living again.
If the Courts put every teen in jail for a BJ, giving or receiving one, half of every state would be in jail for years.

[susanhelit]

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

While the 404 area code is quite appropriate, I think he needs to hear more people's opinions on this matter - everyone who can, let's ring him up!

[jennmarie620]

While it is true (to those of you who have enjoyed pointing this out over the past few days) that at the time this happened, what this young man engaged in what a crime - that law has been ammended by the state of Georgia because it was seen as unfair and unconsitutional. Anyone who was convicted and punished under this law should have had their sentences retroactively reduced and changed. That is part of the basis of our judicial and law system in this country. Fair and Just punishment for the crime committed - and this punishmed was anything BUT Fair and Just. This young was made an example of, and is still being used as an example, plain and simple. The Attorney General of Georgia is using this case to make a point to the public and to judges who feel that they should actually do their jobs correctly.

I for one do not understand why this young was put in jail and the girl was not. Under this law, it says persons - not men only - so she should also have been punished for engaging is underaged consensual oral s.ex. I hope this young man's attorney is going to use that during this appeal.

There are laws in the books of every state in this country that need to be gotten rid of because of their unjustness and stupidity.

(For example, did you know it's illegal to whale hunting in Ohio on Sundays? And in Ohio, it is against the law to arrest anyone on the Fourth of July?)

[ov442]

What exactly was the reason the 15 yr old girl that consentually gave the BJ, didnt get jail time along with the 17 yr old getting it, that did go to jail?
If they are both minors, what statistically is different between an immature boy of 17, and a girl of 15 other than physical ability?
They are both about = at that age in terms of emotional development, wisdom, common sense, and se_ual urges.

[ov442]

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker.......... Not only are you a money wasting moron and need to be removed and prosecuted for this one WAAAAAY moreso than that Nifong guy for the Duke case, but your first name is STUPID! THURBERT
Was your name Hurbert but you have a Lisp? or is it Lithp?

[zoltaric]

I think the prosecutor shuold be skinned alive. Slowly.

[nlm2383]

I wonder if they enforce these laws in Georgia? The DA should look into it...

It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroners office.
--------------------------------------------------
Members of the state assembly cannot be ticketed for speeding while the state assembly is in session.
--------------------------------------------------
Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs.
--------------------------------------------------
Signs are required to be written in English.
--------------------------------------------------
No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket if it is Sunday.

[gunnerv1]

teeus: It was for "jimibear" as a two part answer and besides, everybody else goes way off track around here anyway

[mountainzen]

The difference in age is two years between consenting "Victim" and Mr. Wilson. Most couples have more than two years difference. Attorney General Thurbert Baker should be thrown in jail for wasting time and money on this. Come on, the kid sat in prison for two years, meanwhile the "Minister's wife" gets 210 days in jail for shooting her husband in the back with a shotgun as he lay in bed. Is it because this kid is black? Or is it because Attorney General Thurbert Baker has a thing about s-e-x??? Are you scared if released he'll have consensual *** again? Ooooh, s-e-x is sooo bad....

[likeitis5050]

STUPID!!! LIVING UP TO ALL THE STERIOTYPES OF SOUTHERN JUSTICE!! This would make them the laughing stock of civilized world if, #1 they were civilized and #2 it wasn't destroying someone's life. These lawyers working so hard to keep this young man behind bars need to be disbarred!!! The Attorney General is on the take and needs to be fired...there can be no other reason to go up against a judge on this issue. I hope this is political suicide for this lawyer. It certainly isn't making life a bowl of cherries for the young man still sitting behind bars.

[ov442]

mountainZen - maybe THURBERT, has a daughter and is trying to scare black boys away from his white daughter. Either way, he has a stupid name. thats like when King Ethelbert named his daughter Ethelbertha.

The real issue here is that if the intent of the law is to provide a deterrant from minors engaging in any sexual act to reduce promiscuity among teens, then they need to craft a Real law that penalizes kids in a KID way. NOT ruin their lives with what they did to this kid.

How about try juvenile Boot Camp type sentences with some Religious and common sense style counseling to A) give kids a better understanding of all the many reasons *** before marriage and at a young age is and can bring problems, and B) provide a sense of emotional harm it can cause everyone.
Or how about Taking away drivers license till age 21. Or how about 2000 hours of community service to be carried out over 2 years. thats 20 hours a week, doing work for elderly, the localality, the VA, etc. Something productive and reasonable.

[nextelgirl24]

the first time i read this story i cried for this poor kid. (and yes i have girls in high school) This kind of stuff goes on everywhere tell the atty general to get over it and let this poor kid free. He has done more than his fair share of time. I signed his petition on online and i am hoping for his freedom.

[planetgin]

"mountainZen - maybe THURBERT, has a daughter and is trying to scare black boys away from his white daughter. Either way, he has a stupid name. thats like when King Ethelbert named his daughter Ethelbertha."

Do your homework. Thurbert is black.

[ov442]

planetgin, i dont need to do any homework, that was a joke in reference to what the previous post was talking about.
And i dont care if he is black or white he has an inappropriate agenda and a Stupid name.

[planetgin]

"Jimibear; what would you say if it was your daughter giving the BJ?"

I am not Jimibear but I do have three daughters. First, my daughters would not have had permission to attend a party such as the one Gernarlow was attending (or the ability to attend since I supervise my daughters closely). Secondly, I have taught my daughters to respect themselves and to demand respect from others and the way to that respect is to not give a room full of boys blow jobs. But, in the unlikely event that one of my three daughters were to behave that way, I would certainly discipline her for it and expect her to take responsibility for her choice. I would, however, not expect the boys who received said oral favors to spend the next 10 years in jail and be registered as *** offenders because my daughter happened to make a mistake.

[planetgin]

"planetgin...i dont care if he is black or white he has an inappropriate agenda ... "

On that we can agree.

[nishaboston]

Yes the boy video taped the ***, but the girl knew she was being video taped. If the boy goes to jail for 10 years then the girl should also go to jail for 10 years. Either way the whole *** thing is stupid. I bet the DA office don't even go after child molesters like this.

[kailumego1]

He certainly will learn a valuable lesson from this experience, unfortunately, because the way he had been socialized, the old "boys-will-be-boys" mentality, he's going to have a hard time beating this case.

Parents teach your children responsibility and respect, let's get away from the male right of passage that fosters having numerous se@ual partners equates manhood.

This tragedy should have never happened, and yes both should have been punished instead of one, his 14th Amendment rights were clearly violated.

[teeus]

teeus: It was for "jimibear" as a two part answer and besides, everybody else goes way off track around here anyway
Posted by gunnerv1

And yet I had to read it. If you're going to be as egregious as that in your troll-ish behavior, don't blame me simply because I pointed it out.

[bluestardad]

AINT NO DARKIE GONNA PUT HIS SUSAGE IN NO WHITE GURLS MOUTH WHILE I AM DA DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN DIS STATE!

[mcvet]

These Crackers are and always have been an embarrassment to this nation. They have NO business involving themselves in what is so clearly a Parents situation. Both these kids were Teens and should not have the iron Boot of the Gestapo or Klan as the case may be brought down on their necks. But that isn't even the half of it. ONLY the Black Kid has the iron boot of the Klan on his neck.... and they say they have changed!! ROFLMAO In a pigs eye they've changed. Just hid their sheets that's all they have changed.

[tdavidson58]

The attorney general needs to be removed from office. If the girl was the one that initiated the *** act why isn't she doing time as well? I mean he was a teen also. She must have been white. They need to compensate this man for his time, I would say that the attorney general's pay rate per month times the number of months he was incarcerated.

[undermyboot]

I've been to various parts of Georgia on business many times. It's one of the most ignorant, backward, and bigoted regions in the world. Even the "young" college educated whites under 30 are raging bigots. This state is an embarrassment. Their government is a farce. Nuke it.

LMAO @ closethippy

[melcarnahan]

The American Taliban must be stopped. That Falwell Freak AG should be tied to a tree and whipped or whatever it is they do with impunity in Georgia. I'm surprised no one has stuck one of those roadside Car Bombs by his car yet. Bill Clinton would have given that kid the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Nuke it sounds reasonable but a more targeted approach would leave more darkie sausages which could be used as whips in the lynching of Bush and his daughters.

[jonesforch]

MelCarnahan
The American Taliban must be stopped

What has this got too do with this Boy?

[sjw1253]

I cannot believe this story!!!

If this prosecutor wants to prosecute this one person for doing such a thing and have it stick - he will have to prosecute 98% of the 17 year old boys and girls in Georgia and put them all in jail for 10 years!!!

This is as ridiculous as anything I have ever heard - in particular - in this day and age...

I cannot believe that this has been allowed to go this far!!!

The south was supposed to have been reformed!!! What is going on here and who is going to be held accountable for this ridiculous discriminatory act???

[jasonmcj]

They are appealing the verdict, saying the sentence was "valid".

These prosecitorial types, just like the Duke attorney, are shameless, evil, unethical peeople and should be ostracized and shunned by the community and the media.

[jasonmcj]

"Opponents of Wilson's release said it could lead to similar legal challenges."

Based on what? You Repiublican always make up some untrue BS to justifiy oppression.

Guess what? Your teenage daughters are having ***. Oh yes they are!

[jasonmcj]

[e-mail]

Show the DA your outrage for deciding to appeal this decision to release this young man.

[toldyouso21]

Hmmmmm. Maybe this AG will be joining the Duke's prosecutor for miscarrying justice. There seems to be an epidemic of those who uphold and administer the law, using the law to suit their own stubborn agendas. If the *** was consensual--where is the crime? And if the boy was prosecuted, why wasn't the girl? Why wasn't she charged with oral rape? Either ****** or get off the pot.

[toldyouso21]

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
I faxed him my opinion this morning.....
Posted by last121868 at 02:55 PM : Jun 12, 2007


Called him, they have a special line set up for this--probably re-records over itself. LOL. Maybe we should contact the Senators of that state or perhaps this is a case for Gonzales. He seems to like to micromanage at the local prosecution and Attorney General level.

[toldyouso21]

Jimibear; what would you say if it was your daughter giving the BJ?
Posted by gunnerv1 at 02:53 PM : Jun 12, 2007

If it was my daughter
I'd tell her to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth out--and if there were laws like GA has on the books, I'd tell her she is lucky if they don't put her in jail too.

[toldyouso21]

Regardless of the consent, the fact the boys video taped everything is sickening.
Posted by mikealford3 at 03:23 PM : Jun 12, 2007


They probably videotaped for quality assurance purposes. That way, she and they could go over the tape and determine where she could improve her skills.

Seriously people, the rules of the 1950, 60, 70, 850 etc still apply now: If your daughters are promiscuous, they will be treated like ********* and if they do private things in public--they better know the story/pictures/video will get around and may even end up on the net. It is all about self respect, or the lack thereof. At 15, girls should not put anything in their mouths that they cannot chew and swallow.

[toldyouso21]

"think he's certainly going to be changed," Bernstein said of her client Tuesday. "But fortunately, Genarlow has been taking this time in prison and reading like crazy. "

Without a doubt. With his slim build and long eyelashes--we can guess what his life must be like now. Odds are, oral rape as well as others have been a horrible part of this young man's life--it is the fate of almost every male child thrown into Adult prisons.