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* Read Update To Genarlow Wilson Trial
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After four years in prison, Genarlow Wilson onlooks media -little sister in hand- as being released from prison.
Genarlow Wilson is a young man from Georgia, not too different than many of you reading right now. A 17-year-old, he had an entire life of opportunity ahead of him. With excellent sports talent in football and track, as well as maintaining a solid 3.2 GPA in the class room and being the homecoming king, Wilson was the standard model for a good student.
As Wilson prepared to take his SAT, like so many college-bound students do each and every year, things suddenly took a very drastic turn in the young man's life.
Genarlow Wilson, the young man with a mind set on goals and accomplishments, was arrested. The charge: aggravated child molestation.
From a New Year's Eve party
(full details here), allegations arose that a seventeen-year-old Genarlow Wilson performed inappropriate sexual acts with another minor. Though initially charged with both rape and aggravated child molestation, the facts of the case apparently showed that sexual contact (oral) was voluntary between the two.
From the proceedings, Genarlow was sentenced to ten years in prison and one year of probation. He will have to register as a sex offender. He is now labeled a child molester.
Genarlow was 17, the girl 15.
Is there a significant difference between 17-year-olds and 15-year-olds in terms of mental maturity? Though that is a matter for discussion beyond this case, by Georgia state law it was either an overlooked issue or one found to be true. It may not be accurate, but some may venture a bet that worldwide, a little more than nervous dancing has been a standard at high school parties.
Ten years in prison is enough time to completely ruin a person's life and dreams, it's a tough sentence that may not fit "the crime". Also honestly, should the acts conducted in this case truly be considered a crime?
This is where things get interesting. As reported in
Atlanta Magazine, a technicality in Georgia law allowed this type of sentencing to be carried out.
Having sexual contact with anyone under the age of 16 can be considered as aggravated child molestation by Georgia law, as is standard in the States. The deal is that the law did not take into account age variance. So a 17-year-old, who received oral sex from anyone under 16, would technically be considered a child molester, even as a teen potentially less than two years apart from age.
This law also allowed a more harsh penalty to befall Wilson, as having oral sex allowed heavier punishment than having actual intercourse.
Since this case, a new "Romeo and Juliet" law has gone into affect, fixing the mentioned technicalities by allowing only a twelve-month sentencing to occur and no labeling of "sex offender" in a similar scenario to that of Genarlow's.
Genarlow still sits in prison, waiting for a resolution in his sentencing. A lower court apparently ruled to have Genarlow released, but a state attorney general wanted to appeal that ruling, citing it could set bad precedent. Appeals were made three days ago to the Georgia Supreme Court to grant Genarlow his freedom, as well as let him out on bond in the process. A ruling on the matter is expected in September.
Update:Four years after Genarlow was initially jailed for receiving consensual oral sex during a party, he has finally been released from the Georgia penal system.
Concerns of the case have troubled legal analysts and Wilson's family alike for years. Though caught in the cross-section of a loophole in law, Genarlow was forced to be an inmate while legal matters were slowly resolved in a law that has since been overturned in Georgia.
Following 2-years imprisonment of an orignal 10-year-sentence for an act of consensual oral sex, handed down by a potentially questionable Georgia judiciary system, Genarlow was ordered to be released from the Burruss Correctional Training Center by the Georgia Supreme Court. Wilson is now a young-man of 21 years of age, his teen-age years now gone.
His mother, Juannessa Bennett, and younger sister greeted him on his way from the center and planned to stay "low-key" as he readjusts to life.
⇑ Return To Beginning of Genarlow Wilson ArticleRelated Articles and SourcesWilsonAppeal.comPetition Georgia General AssemblyAtlanta Magazine (More In-Depth Details)Atlanta Journal-Constitution