When Justice Is Unjust...

I came across this gripping article from ESPN The Magazine today, which tells the story of Genarlow Wilson, a 20-year old man in Georgia serving 10 years in prison for what Georgia law considers 'aggravated child molestation'.

Wilson was arrested during his senior year of high school on rape charges when he was 17 years old. The girl involved was only 15 years old -- one year younger than the age of consent by Georgia law. Although the girl initially thought she had been raped, by the time of the trial she had rescinded that accusation after realizing that she had actually initiated the sexual encounter. There was, however, a videotape of the girl performing oral sex on Wilson and a handful of other students that night.

By Georgia law, which even the prosecutor in the trial admits is 'archaic' in this situation, Wilson was guilty of aggravated child molestation due to the girl being underage. The minimum sentence for that crime is 10 years -- mandatory.

The very well-written article, written by Dwight Thompson, discusses the situation and what this has done to Wilson. Now two years into his sentence, Wilson has only his memories of being homecoming king, an all-conference football player, and a student on the brink of a great college football career -- he even had a box in his closet full of letters from various colleges inviting him to visit their schools.

The fact that this man was an athlete with a bright future isn't the focus of the article, though. Rather, the article is about justice. Upon delivering the verdict for the case, the forewoman for the jury was crying because even she knew that although Wilson had broken the law, the law was unjust in this situation. The other five students involved accepted pre-trial plea bargains of 5 years, and that bargain was re-offered to Wilson even after his verdict was delivered. Wilson instead chose to fight the judgement and to date he has been unsuccessful.

The most mind-boggling part of this story is that after the conviction, the law in Georgia was changed, as a provision for oral sex was added. As such, Wilson would have received either a lesser sentence or possibly could have been released. Surprising (and most confusing), is the fact that the amendment to the law is specifically not retroactive, meaning the change would not affect Wilson.

The reasoning behind that rule is unclear, but Wilson supporters have created this website to encourage support for the once-star athlete. Politicians are becoming involved as well -- recently, Georgia State Senators Emanuel Jones, Dan Weber, and Kasim Reed have introduced a Senate bill to fix the injustice done to Genarlow Wilson. I encourage everyone to visit the site and ask that you please sign this petition for his freedom.

I'm all for fighting crime but in this instance, the law turned a good teenager into a criminal for no good reason, and sentenced him to jailtime that will protect nobody.

Please, help free Genarlow Wilson.