Will Genarlow Wilson Be Set Free?

After having his freedom granted , Genarlow Wilson pines away in his cell at the Burruss Correctional Center awaiting the day July 5 arrives. It has indeed been a long journey for the young man whose cause has been championed by former president Jimmy Carter and billionaire maverick, Mark Cuban. Four years ago at a New Years Eve party, a 15-year old young girl performed oral sex on a 17-year old football superstar. Caught on film by an onlooker, this moment of innocent sexual promiscuity landed the superstar in prison and the world shaking its head as to where was justice served.

Today at the tender age of twenty-one, Genarlow Wilson is known as inmate #1187055. He is housed at the Burruss Correctional Center which is situated around ninety minutes south of Atlanta. In a case that continues to unfold, Genarlow Wilson was found guilty of aggravated child molestation. His crime? He was found guilty of having consensual oral sex with a young woman eighteen months younger than he was.

It sound strange but follow the trail of facts. When the event in question occurred, the state of Georgia had a law on the books that stipulated that if an individual with the age differences with Genarlow and his 'victim' had engaged in sexual intercourse it was a misdemeanor offence. On the other hand, with the act that they actually engaged in, oral sex, the law dictated a felony conviction and being put on the sex offender registry.

Unlike the others involved in the case of which there were five. Genarlow Wilson was the one kid who refused to plead guilty. Mostly because he felt innocent of molesting a child. But also because by pleading guilty he would be forced to move from his mother's house because he had an underaged sister who still resided there. After forgoing a multitude of plea bargains, all of which included that felony conviction and sex offender registration, Genarlow Wilson went to trail and was found guilty of receiving consensual oral sex. His punishment was a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. Even though both the victim and the victim's mother admitted the act was consensual and the victim had been the initiator the district attorney's office pushed for both the conviction and the maximum punishment. When Genarlow Wilson heard the verdict, tears filled his eyes and he wept openly in court.

It was an unexpected defeat to an absurd piece of lawyering. Surely someone could have come up with something better than this. Irregardless to the event that transpired, was it worth sending an otherwise well-liked young man to prison for ten years? Those were the thoughts of B.J. Bernstein who took Genarlow Wilson's case pro bono after the conviction to attempt to right this horrific wrong.

After a series of rejections from various appeals courts, earlier this month the Monroe County Judge, Thomas Wilson (no relation) threw out the ten year sentence. His opinion offered the belief that the sentence would be viewed by society as cruel and unusual. Judge Wilson ordered Genarlow Wilson freed and modified his conviction from that of a felony to one of a misdemeanor allowing Genarlow to avoid registering with the sex offender registry.

One would think that this saga would have come to a happy conclusion. However a monkeywrench was thrown in by the attorney general who immediately filed an injunction and sought to set aside Judge Wilson's ruling with the state supreme court. While this appeal process meanders its way through the proper channels, Genarlow Wilson remains in prison. A hearing has been set for July 5, where Judge David Emerson will decide whether a bond will be issued to Genarlow allowing him to be free while waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the matter. Until then, Genarlow Wilson will do what he has done the last two plus years and that is, do his time, one day at a time.

You may not know the story of Genarlow Wilson. His struggle to be free has caught national attention as ABCNews and Mark Cuban's HDTV Network have done segments on the story. This case has very little to do with sex and everything to do with an injustice. This is not about race or class. It avoids the typical trappings of judicial misconduct. Everything was done by the book. The only problem is that in this case, it is the book that is cruel and unusual. Everyone agrees with the unconstitutionality of the law that governs this case. The Georgia state legislature even convened and changed the laws to ensure that such a case does not happen again.

Come July 5, the world will be watching as a young man hears the opinion of a judge he has never met who has the power to set him free or send him back to jail. Sounds like an expensive price to pay for a moment's immaturity.