Outrageous Injustice

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PurpleMustReign
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Outrageous Injustice

Post by PurpleMustReign »

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/ ... age=wilson

It rests on the floor of his empty closet, near the deflated football and basketball. It's filled with things he needed in his old life. Mostly, it's overflowing with recruiting letters, from schools big and small. A "Good luck on the SAT" wish from the coaches at Columbia. From another Ivy League college, Brown, a note from the football coach: "You have been recommended to me as one of the top scholar-athletes in your area."

There's a questionnaire from the Citadel. A brochure from Elon. An envelope from Sewanee. College after college, all wanting the undersized but overachieving Genarlow Wilson to consider their football programs. One open letter, dated three months before everything in this box became a reminder of a life derailed, invites him to take a campus visit. It begins:

Dear Genarlow,

Here you stand, on the threshold of four of the most influential, challenging, and rewarding years of your life.

Being Inmate No. 1187055
Genarlow Wilson is standing on a threshold all right, at the end of the last hall of Burruss Correctional Training Center, an hour and a half south of Atlanta. He's just a few feet from the mechanical door that closes with a goosebump-raising whurr and clang. Three and a half years after he received that letter, he's wearing a blue jacket with big, white block letters. They read: STATE PRISONER.

This is a very interesting article on ESPN. You can read it and find what it is about.

There are a few things I find disturbing:

1. This is one of the sickest stories I have ever read. How this kid is in jail, and there are REAL convicted child molesters on the street almost makes me cry.
2. How, with everyone saying what a joke this law is, is the state of Georgia still letting this go on? You mean to tell me they can't let him out of prison?
3. What idiot jury would convict him of this crime?

There is a lot more but I don't want to get too worked up yet. I hope this kid can get out soon. He certainly doesn't deserve to be in there.


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Post by Demi »

All his situation does is reinforce some unfortunate stereotypes that the state is backward and misgoverned.
unfortunate stereotypes? Looks like the truth to me...
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Post by Darkwing »

I was just over on ESPN.com reading this... That story made me sick.
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Post by Winston »

I looked at the article breifly and recall hearing about it (or a similar case) before. I didn't read much, but isn't that the law in every state? 3 years apart under 18.
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Post by Kansas Viking »

Tragic story. Can't believe some of the laws in some places. I started dating my wife when I was 15 and she was 13. Guess we were lucky we weren't arrested. You would think the justice system could spend their money better than ruining a kids life.
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Post by vikingman »

I don't know about the rest of you however, several years ago I spent some time in that part of the country and they have not caught up with the rest of the U.S. Kansas has some strange laws and I spent several years in Law Enforcement however, when you travel to Georgia, Mississippi and that area you definitely see some strange laws. Most states would start out with a felony charge and then reduce it to a misdemeanor. Only time will tell if they will do the right thing.
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Post by wang_chi7 »

ls1ta wrote:I looked at the article breifly and recall hearing about it (or a similar case) before. I didn't read much, but isn't that the law in every state? 3 years apart under 18.
I think so, but most don't make it more of a crime for oral rather than traditional intercourse. Its one of those old anti-sodomy and related laws that was pretty much a way to outlaw homosexuality, the oral law is still allowed to be on the books though.
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Post by Swaps »

Is it a shame that this young man is in jail? Yes.
Does it suck that his youth is ruined? Yes.
Does it also suck that his college and pro career will never be had? you bet.


But you're all making this kid out to be some kind of an angel.
What ever happened to DONT HAVE SEX?

Why are 15 year old girls giving "oral sex"?
Where are the parents here?

This kid was smoking pot, drinking burbon, "socializing" with lots of people. Part of me says he DESERVES to be in jail.

Does this story tug at your heart stings for missed opporitunity and a foolish "child predator" law? Yeah.

Does he deserve to be labled as a pedophile for the rest of his life? no.

But one thing really stuck out in that article.

The article says "He believes in a system that has failed him."

Excuse me?
Smoking pot is illegal, underage drinking is illegal.
Explain to me why having sex of ANY kind with a 15 year old girl should be allowed?

The story is skipping the main point of this story.

He bleeped up.
now he's in jail.

Just like the DA said. He's a media "Martyr" and with this story, his point is being proven.

Had he just taken the plea agreement, he would be out of jail, and in college like his friend.
But no.
he INTENTIONALLY went to court.
he WANTED to be "made an example of."

I feel no pity for him.

Media sensationalism.
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Post by DanAS1 »

Swaps wrote:Is it a shame that this young man is in jail? Yes.
Does it suck that his youth is ruined? Yes.
Does it also suck that his college and pro career will never be had? you bet.


But you're all making this kid out to be some kind of an angel.
What ever happened to DONT HAVE SEX?

Why are 15 year old girls giving "oral sex"?
Where are the parents here?
Are you a parent? Do you think we have our teenagers monitored 24/7? Do you think our teenagers are all like the kids on Father Knows Best?

Seriously, Swaps, if everyone was in jail who engaged in conduct this ill-advised or worse at one point in their teenage lives, you might be living in a country as populated as New Zealand. As for this dude wanting to fight the charges, how can you fault someone for having the stones to fight an unjust law?

The funny thing about laws like this -- if it can be called funny -- is that a number of the wackos who support them are no doubt engaged in various types of twisted conduct of their own. Personally, I support kids abstaining from sex. I also support adults abstaining from eating animal flesh. I wouldn't, however, put a person away for 10 years just because they ate a piece of chicken (or fish, if you prefer). That's how stupid this law sounds to me.
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Post by Hunter Morrow »

Whats so surprising is that in the very same country the DA got a teacher for sex with a minor student and she only did 3 months. The prosecutor here has #### for brains and he ought to be disbarred and sued.
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Post by Swaps »

why do you blame the prosecutor?

It's his JOB to put the alleged criminal in jail.

If you want to place blame, first off, Place blame on the kid for doing it. Secondly, place blame on the defense attorney for not doing HIS job by getting the kid off.

There is a BETTER Way to fight an "unjust" law then by committing it.

What if I thought that killing someone was an unjust law, then I go and murder a family, and take it to court, spending millions of tax payers money for the prosecutions case?

Just because I thought it to be an unjust law.

What if I feel that speeding is an unjust law.

so i break it, and get into an accident and hurt someone.


IF IT'S AGAINST THE LAW, THEN DONT DO IT.

And about the parenting.
no, i'm not a parent.

But you know what?

I NEVER drank before I was 21.
I Never SMOKED a cigarette
I Never had SEX with a 15 year old while I was in high school.

Why? Because of the morals, rules, and expectations instilled in me by my PARENTS.

Smoking pot is AGAINST THE LAW
Drinking underage is AGAINST THE LAW.
then DONT DO IT.

Having ANY SEX with a 15 year old is not only AGAINST THE LAW, it's UNBELIEVABLY immoral and actually DISGUSTING.

Even if you're only 3 years older then her.
YOU DON'T DO IT.
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Re: Outrageous Injustice

Post by Mothman »

PurpleMustReign wrote:1. This is one of the sickest stories I have ever read. How this kid is in jail, and there are REAL convicted child molesters on the street almost makes me cry.
2. How, with everyone saying what a joke this law is, is the state of Georgia still letting this go on? You mean to tell me they can't let him out of prison?
The sentence certainly doesn't seem to fit the crime in the case.
3. What idiot jury would convict him of this crime?
I can't blame the jury. They had to consider the facts of the case and the law as it's written. If the facts support a "guilty" verdict under the letter of the law, they really have no choice but to deliver that verdict.
There is a lot more but I don't want to get too worked up yet. I hope this kid can get out soon. He certainly doesn't deserve to be in there.
His lack of judgment helped land him there but the sentence seems ridiculous considering the crime committed.

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Post by Canadian Viking »

Swaps wrote:There is a BETTER Way to fight an "unjust" law then by committing it.

What if I thought that killing someone was an unjust law, then I go and murder a family, and take it to court, spending millions of tax payers money for the prosecutions case?

Just because I thought it to be an unjust law.

What if I feel that speeding is an unjust law.

so i break it, and get into an accident and hurt someone.


IF IT'S AGAINST THE LAW, THEN DONT DO IT.
I think that you are mistaking his motives in the case. This kid did not set out to have sex with a 15 yr old to challenge what he saw as an unjust law. He did something that drunk kids do all of the time, he made a big mistake.

He went to court to try to beat the charge. If he'd accepted a plea bargain, he would never have been allowed to be alone around his kid sister or live with her again. Also, simply because one is actually guilty does not deny them the right to a trial. He did not waste the public's money by requesting a trial, he went to court and forced the prosecutor to prove that an offence had been committed and that there he was guilty. One need not admit one's own guilt.

Swaps wrote: And about the parenting.
no, i'm not a parent.

But you know what?

I NEVER drank before I was 21.
I Never SMOKED a cigarette
I Never had SEX with a 15 year old while I was in high school.

Why? Because of the morals, rules, and expectations instilled in me by my PARENTS.

Smoking pot is AGAINST THE LAW
Drinking underage is AGAINST THE LAW.
then DONT DO IT.
I am not going to get into a morality debate here, but not everyone has the same moral code as you. I know the difference between right and wrong and did so as a kid. I chose to have fun while I was a teenager and did not obey every law on the books. I exceeded the speed limit, I instigated fights, I drank under age, I didn't do drugs, but knew many people who did. I also discovered at an reasonably early age that girls were fun.... I was not a bad kid. I graduated at the top of my highschool class, finished first in my university class, attended a very good law school and now work for a major international financial institution. I did not lack parental guidance nor was I a burden on society. In fact, I did far more than my share of community service, played sports and had great friends in all age brackets. I chose to have some fun and I enjoyed my childhood.

Some kids challenge authority, even good kids from good families. I don't think that I know any people who did not drink underage at least once. Funny enough, most of the people that I hung out with who did smoke and drink are now very successful, well balanced people who were just having some fun as kids. Kids do silly things and breaking minor laws is usually as bad as things get (no, sex with a minor is not a minor offence).

Drinking underage and smoking a bit of pot are against the law, no doubt, but the rule of proportionality says that the punishment should fit the crime and for those offences society has generally issued pretty light punishment. Unless I am mistaken, smoking pot is not a felony in any state, but if it is, it would not have a 10 yr penalty attached to it for a first offence. (I am a Canadian, so I might very well be wrong....) Notice, though, that the kid in this case was not charged or convicted of smoking pot nor does it appear that he was fined for his drinking.

With respect to him having sex with a 15 yr old, if he'd had sex with her, he would not have gone to jail as it was only a misdemeanor. Instead, he had oral sex with her. That got him 10 yrs. Where is the proportionality in that?

In an earlier post, you said that he might deserve to be in prison for smoking pot and drinking underage. With those sorts of rules, you'd need a lot more prisons!

This kid was properly convicted under a bad law. Justice was done, but justice was not served....
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Post by Darkwing »

Actual headline in the Fargo Forum today

Man pleads guilty to having sex with wife

Sounds like a similar situation.
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=154154

Might require registration to read.... some highlights.
A 23-year-old Barnesville, Minn., man will have to register as a sex offender for having sex with his 17-year-old wife.


The relationship began when the girl was 15 and David Anthony Cox was 20.

Cox pleaded guilty to a third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge in Clay County District Court under a plea agreement that may spare him from serving any jail time but would still require him to register as a sex offender.
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Post by PurpleMustReign »

Swaps wrote:IF IT'S AGAINST THE LAW, THEN DONT DO IT.

You mean to tell me that you have NEVER broken the law? Any law? You never roll through a stop sign, speed a little on the freeway, or spit your gum out on the side walk or in the grass?
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