Why is Genarlow Wilson in prison?

[Goofball]

Maybe there has already been a thread about this and I just missed it. I can't believe I have never seen this story before.

This poor 17 year old kid had oral sex with a consenting 15 year old girl at a New Year's Eve party.

Through a tragic combination of archaic Georgia law (actual intercourse would apparently have been only a misdemeanor; blow jobs are a no-no) and a DA who can't seem to recognize the difference between the letter and spirit of the law, this kid is now in jail for 10 years and a registered sex offender.

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=158

Edit: spelling

[Samurai Waki]

Welcome to the American Legal System; a mish-mash of archaic texts, Fascist and Communist ideologies, and just plain ol' fun lovin' blended into one chaotic system of infinite loopholes, where nobody is guilty but the innocent, and the decadent walk free.

And if you think these trials can get confusing, just wait until you have to deal with Interpol.

[Kralizec]

I read it before, Lemur (I think) posted the exact same article some time back.

As you can see by the DA's actions, it's not always the lawyers who are the bad guys.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

two thoughts:

1.) Did he know she wasn't 16? If he did then to be honest he landed himself in this. It's tough but its the law and he presumably knew there was a law against it.

2.) This sucks, it should be quashed on appeal. Which probably wont stop him from getting genuinely raped in the meantime.

[GoreBag]

I thought this kind of thing happened all the time.

[KukriKhan]

So is the quarrel with the Georgia law, or the prosecutor, or the fairness of not informing the jury of the possible consequences of their verdict?

Side question: why do these sessions keep getting videotaped? If I'm 15, 16, 17, and intend to misbehave with my friends, why document it?

[Samurai Waki]

Side question: why do these sessions keep getting videotaped? If I'm 15, 16, 17, and intend to misbehave with my friends, why document it?

It was easier to get away with a crime before people became idiots.

oh, and Cell Phones or Cam-Corders have become more easily accessible to the idiot masses.

[Papewaio]

Interesting stats:

Statistics provided by the Campaign for Juvenile Justice, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Atlanta, suggest that Alexander’s assertions may not be far off the mark, particularly when it comes to trying teens as adults. According to the organization’s analysis of Justice Department statistics, African-American and Latino youth are 45 percent of Georgia’s youth population, but comprise 77 percent of the youth arrested under SB 440, a controversial measure that was passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 1994. SB 440 gives superior courts the power to charge children aged 13–17 as adults for committing the so called “seven deadly sins”: murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, and armed robbery if committed with a firearm. Furthermore, the organization also found that 46 percent of criminal cases involving white youth were transferred back to juvenile court versus 25 percent of cases involving African-American youth.

Given no priors...

[Blodrast]

So is the quarrel with the Georgia law, or the prosecutor, or the fairness of not informing the jury of the possible consequences of their verdict?

Side question: why do these sessions keep getting videotaped? If I'm 15, 16, 17, and intend to misbehave with my friends, why document it?

Later all we can all watch it, get a kick out of it; show off to my friends how "cool" I am; happy-time material; any combination of these... These would be my guesses.

Damn, me unlucky to be too young (unborn) during the sex-crazed 60s, too old to get as much sex as most teens seem to get nowadays...

[Vuk]

two thoughts:

1.) Did he know she wasn't 16? If he did then to be honest he landed himself in this. It's tough but its the law and he presumably knew there was a law against it.

2.) This sucks, it should be quashed on appeal. Which probably wont stop him from getting genuinely raped in the meantime.

I thought you said that never happened...

[Strike For The South]

Vindictive parents. "My duaghter wouldnt do that!" Yea uh-huh

[BigTex]

Maybe there has already been a thread about this and I just missed it. I can't believe I have never seen this story before.

This poor 17 year old kid had oral sex with a consenting 15 year old girl at a New Year's Eve party.

Through a tragic combination of archaic Georgia law (actual intercourse would apparently have been only a misdemeanor; blow jobs are a no-no) and a DA who can't seem to recognize the difference between the letter and spirit of the law, this kid is now in jail for 10 years and a registered sex offender.

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=158

Edit: spelling

Last I checked the crimes against nature were struck down by the Supreme court in 2004. How did this one slip past? This ruling wont stand to an appeal.

In 2004 they struck down all laws banning beastiality, sodomy, homosexual acts, and a miriad of other laws aptly named "crimes against nature". Thus the reason why states now classify beastiality as animal cruelty.

[Xiahou]

Last I checked the crimes against nature were struck down by the Supreme court in 2004. How did this one slip past? This ruling wont stand to an appeal.

In 2004 they struck down all laws banning beastiality, sodomy, homosexual acts, and a miriad of other laws aptly named "crimes against nature". Thus the reason why states now classify beastiality as animal cruelty.

Not that I'm aware of. The SCOTUS doesn't strike down 'all laws' in one case. Their decisions can be used to set precedence though. I assume the case you're thinking of is Lawrence v Texas?

[KukriKhan]

All I can think of for advice is: The next time I 'come to' and find myself in a hotel room with my fellow partiers having free-flowing booze and dope, and girls offering favors...

I should check the GPS function of my foto-taking cellphone, to see if I'm accidentally in Georgia, and hook up to the 'net to peruse the local sex laws.

And that doc_bean's irresistable urge-to-merge biologic imperative hasn't trumped something my court-apppointed defense attorney might want to try to introduce as mitigating circumstance...

Otherwise, I might be in trouble.

[doc_bean]

And that doc_bean's irresistable urge-to-merge biologic imperative hasn't trumped something my court-apppointed defense attorney might want to try to introduce as mitigating circumstance...

Hey now, my theory doesn't apply to cheating or doing minors (well, it does, but less so), it's more of a long term thing, than a spur of the moment thing.

But heck, whatever keeps you out of jail

[BigTex]

Not that I'm aware of. The SCOTUS doesn't strike down 'all laws' in one case. Their decisions can be used to set precedence though. I assume the case you're thinking of is Lawrence v Texas?

Yes I'm talking about Lawrence V Texas. They didn't strike them all down, but they did rule the laws of "crimes against nature" to be unconstitutional. Pretty much I'll call that striking a law down. Not to mention alot of the hooha over that case was becuase the rulling was iregular, becuase they did not only call laws against homosexual acts unconstitutional. But also went as far as to rule all laws pertaining to sodomy beastiality etc to be unconstitutional.

Not to mention this is when the far zealot right started to scream about legislating from the bench....

[Lemur]

Yes I'm talking about Lawrence V Texas. They didn't strike them all down, but they did rule the laws of "crimes against nature" to be unconstitutional. Pretty much I'll call that striking a law down. Not to mention alot of the hooha over that case was becuase the rulling was iregular, becuase they did not only call laws against homosexual acts unconstitutional. But also went as far as to rule all laws pertaining to sodomy beastiality etc to be unconstitutional.

Hrm? I wasn't aware that the SC ruled on bestiality and every other known form of deviance when they decided Lawrence v. Texas. Considering that case was ruled four years ago, it's astonishing I'm not seeing legally sanctioned cow-sodomizing in the streets. What's taking so long? Let the cross-gendered farmyard orgies begin!

[Fisherking]

Hrm? I wasn't aware that the SC ruled on bestiality and every other known form of deviance when they decided Lawrence v. Texas. Considering that case was ruled four years ago, it's astonishing I'm not seeing legally sanctioned cow-sodomizing in the streets. What's taking so long? Let the cross-gendered farmyard orgies begin!

As a tragic, (but also funny) side light, the first juvenile executed in Massituchets was because he had a barnyard fetish. Cows, sheep, ducks, chickens……..it was because he was deemed an incorrigible offender.

Ah! Man's inhumanity to his fellow man.

[yesdachi]

Do you think white kids would have been treated differently?

[doc_bean]

Do you think white kids would have been treated differently?

errr....who is this question directed to ?

The race issue was hardly brought up. Perhaps the case wouldn't have made it to court if he had been white (although frankly, this would be pure speculation) but the debate has mostly centered around whether what he did was rape and if it waranted the sentence (everyone says no to that).

IMO the jury wouldn't have acted differently, their hands were tied.

[yesdachi]

errr....who is this question directed to ?

Anyone.

The race issue was hardly brought up. Perhaps the case wouldn't have made it to court if he had been white (although frankly, this would be pure speculation) but the debate has mostly centered around whether what he did was rape and if it waranted the sentence (everyone says no to that).

IMO the jury wouldn't have acted differently, their hands were tied.

Atlanta is a pretty racial place, do you think if the cops had opened the hotel room doors and found a bunch of white teenagers, would they have been more dismissive and just wrote it off as kids being kids or because they were black kids (most of which had rap sheets an arm long) they were more willing to pursue an arrest?

The whole thing seems to have a racial angle to it that is being sidestepped. I could be wrong.