By SCOTT THURSTON, BILL RANKIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/26/07
The Georgia Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson, the Douglas County teenager who has been serving a controversial 10-year sentence for consensual oral sex.
The court's 4-3 decision upholds a Monroe County judge's ruling that the sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment under both the Georgia and U.S. constitutions.
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W.A. BRIDGES JR. / AJC</td></tr><tr><td class="caption">Genarlow Wilson stands outside the Burrus Correctional Training Center earlier this year.
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• How the judges voted
• Blog: Comment on the decision
• Timeline of events
• The court's ruling (PDF)
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><!--startclickprintinclude--><!--begintext--> The majority opinion said the sentence appeared to be "grossly disproportionate" to the teenager's crime and noted that it was out of step with current law.
Wilson was expected to be released Friday afternoon from Al Burruss Correctional Training Facility in Monroe County, where he has been held since late 2005, according to his lawyer.
Wilson was convicted in April 2005 of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a 2003 New Year's Eve party in a hotel room. He was 17 at the time.
At the time the crime carried a mandatory 10-year sentence with no parole. However, the law was changed in 2006 to make Wilson's crime a misdemeanor with a maximum 1-year sentence.
"Although society has a significant interest in protecting children from premature sexual activity, we must acknowledge that Wilson's crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children ..." wrote Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears in the majority opinion.
She said that "for the law to punish Wilson as it would an adult, with the extraordinarily harsh punishment of 10 years in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, appears to be grossly disproportionate to his crime."
Justice George Carley, in the dissent, said the 2006 change in the law was specifically written so it would not be retroactive. The sentence is not cruel and unusual because "the General Assembly made the express decision that he cannot benefit from the subsequent legislative determination to reduce the sentence for commission of that crime from felony to misdemeanor status," Carley wrote.
Carley said the majority opinion showed "unprecedented disregard" for the legislative intent of the law change and creates the potential for releases of "any and all defendants who were ever convicted of aggravated child molestation and sentenced" under circumstances similar to Wilson's.
Wilson's lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, said she was elated by today's decision.
"We never turned away from the courts," she said. "The Supreme Court issued a wonderful and just decision. We had faith in this all along — although it took a little longer than we thought it would."
Bernstein said she was waiting for a judge's order directing the Department of Corrections to release Wilson from custody. Once that happens, Bernstein said she and Wilson's mother expect to drive to the prison in Monroe Friday afternoon and pick him up.
Wilson, once released, will do all he can to encourage teenagers to do the right thing, Bernstein said.
"Genarlow is going to be committed to talking and working with young people to spread the message that he made a mistake that night and doesn't want it to happen to anyone else," he lawyer said.
In a statement issued Friday, Attorney General Thurbert Baker said he will "respectfully acknowledge" the state Supreme Court's decision.
"I hope the court's decision will also put an end to this issue as a matter of contention in the hearts and minds of concerned Georgians and others across the country who have taken such a strong interest in the case," Baker said.
Baker's office had appealed the ruling by the Monroe County Superior Court judge who overturned Wilson's felony conviction last summer and reduced it to a misdemeanor. That judge's ruling to resentence Wilson to a misdemeanor, "however well-meaning, was unauthorized under Georgia law," Baker said. "It was for this reason that I appealed, in order to (ensure) a fair and consistent application of the law, not just to Mr. Wilson, but to others similarly situated."
In its majority opinion, the state Supreme Court acknowledged that it rarely overturns sentences on grounds that they are cruel and unusual. But the court also noted it has done so twice before following legislative changes. It also said a review of other states showed that most "either would not punish Wilson's conduct at all or would, like Georgia now, punish it as a misdemeanor."
Wilson's case has drawn national attention, and a hearing before the Supreme Court in July drew a large crowd of supporters.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta) said the state high court "righted a great wrong, an unbelievable wrong. This young man, each day he stayed in prison, was a day too long."
Lewis said he visited Wilson in prison a few months ago. "His head was on straight. He's smart. He realized he had made mistakes. He said, 'Congressman, I'm a good person. I want to get out and make a contribution.'"
Lewis said he would do all he can to make good on a promise to help Wilson after his release from prison.
Wilson was arrested following a party also attended by five other male youths. His sex act with the 15-year-old girl was videotaped by one of his friends.
Wilson was also charged with raping a 17-year-old girl at the party but was acquitted of that charge.
Several months after he was convicted of aggravated child molestation, a felony, and given the mandatory 10-year term, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed legislation making consensual sex between a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old a misdemeanor.
The Monroe County judge's decision came last June, and the state's appeal by Baker sent the case to the Supreme Court.
Also last summer, Douglas County District Attorney David McDade offered Wilson's attorneys a deal in which he could plead guilty to another felony and get a sentence including 5 years of jail time with credit for two years served. Wilson and his lawyers rejected the deal.
Joining Sears in the majority decision were justices Carol Hunstein, Robert Benham and Hugh Thompson. Joining Carley in the dissent were justices Harris Hines and Harold Melton.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/26/07
The Georgia Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson, the Douglas County teenager who has been serving a controversial 10-year sentence for consensual oral sex.
The court's 4-3 decision upholds a Monroe County judge's ruling that the sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment under both the Georgia and U.S. constitutions.
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• How the judges voted
• Blog: Comment on the decision
• Timeline of events
• The court's ruling (PDF)
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><!--startclickprintinclude--><!--begintext--> The majority opinion said the sentence appeared to be "grossly disproportionate" to the teenager's crime and noted that it was out of step with current law.
Wilson was expected to be released Friday afternoon from Al Burruss Correctional Training Facility in Monroe County, where he has been held since late 2005, according to his lawyer.
Wilson was convicted in April 2005 of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a 2003 New Year's Eve party in a hotel room. He was 17 at the time.
At the time the crime carried a mandatory 10-year sentence with no parole. However, the law was changed in 2006 to make Wilson's crime a misdemeanor with a maximum 1-year sentence.
"Although society has a significant interest in protecting children from premature sexual activity, we must acknowledge that Wilson's crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children ..." wrote Supreme Court Justice Leah Ward Sears in the majority opinion.
She said that "for the law to punish Wilson as it would an adult, with the extraordinarily harsh punishment of 10 years in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, appears to be grossly disproportionate to his crime."
Justice George Carley, in the dissent, said the 2006 change in the law was specifically written so it would not be retroactive. The sentence is not cruel and unusual because "the General Assembly made the express decision that he cannot benefit from the subsequent legislative determination to reduce the sentence for commission of that crime from felony to misdemeanor status," Carley wrote.
Carley said the majority opinion showed "unprecedented disregard" for the legislative intent of the law change and creates the potential for releases of "any and all defendants who were ever convicted of aggravated child molestation and sentenced" under circumstances similar to Wilson's.
Wilson's lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, said she was elated by today's decision.
"We never turned away from the courts," she said. "The Supreme Court issued a wonderful and just decision. We had faith in this all along — although it took a little longer than we thought it would."
Bernstein said she was waiting for a judge's order directing the Department of Corrections to release Wilson from custody. Once that happens, Bernstein said she and Wilson's mother expect to drive to the prison in Monroe Friday afternoon and pick him up.
Wilson, once released, will do all he can to encourage teenagers to do the right thing, Bernstein said.
"Genarlow is going to be committed to talking and working with young people to spread the message that he made a mistake that night and doesn't want it to happen to anyone else," he lawyer said.
In a statement issued Friday, Attorney General Thurbert Baker said he will "respectfully acknowledge" the state Supreme Court's decision.
"I hope the court's decision will also put an end to this issue as a matter of contention in the hearts and minds of concerned Georgians and others across the country who have taken such a strong interest in the case," Baker said.
Baker's office had appealed the ruling by the Monroe County Superior Court judge who overturned Wilson's felony conviction last summer and reduced it to a misdemeanor. That judge's ruling to resentence Wilson to a misdemeanor, "however well-meaning, was unauthorized under Georgia law," Baker said. "It was for this reason that I appealed, in order to (ensure) a fair and consistent application of the law, not just to Mr. Wilson, but to others similarly situated."
In its majority opinion, the state Supreme Court acknowledged that it rarely overturns sentences on grounds that they are cruel and unusual. But the court also noted it has done so twice before following legislative changes. It also said a review of other states showed that most "either would not punish Wilson's conduct at all or would, like Georgia now, punish it as a misdemeanor."
Wilson's case has drawn national attention, and a hearing before the Supreme Court in July drew a large crowd of supporters.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta) said the state high court "righted a great wrong, an unbelievable wrong. This young man, each day he stayed in prison, was a day too long."
Lewis said he visited Wilson in prison a few months ago. "His head was on straight. He's smart. He realized he had made mistakes. He said, 'Congressman, I'm a good person. I want to get out and make a contribution.'"
Lewis said he would do all he can to make good on a promise to help Wilson after his release from prison.
Wilson was arrested following a party also attended by five other male youths. His sex act with the 15-year-old girl was videotaped by one of his friends.
Wilson was also charged with raping a 17-year-old girl at the party but was acquitted of that charge.
Several months after he was convicted of aggravated child molestation, a felony, and given the mandatory 10-year term, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed legislation making consensual sex between a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old a misdemeanor.
The Monroe County judge's decision came last June, and the state's appeal by Baker sent the case to the Supreme Court.
Also last summer, Douglas County District Attorney David McDade offered Wilson's attorneys a deal in which he could plead guilty to another felony and get a sentence including 5 years of jail time with credit for two years served. Wilson and his lawyers rejected the deal.
Joining Sears in the majority decision were justices Carol Hunstein, Robert Benham and Hugh Thompson. Joining Carley in the dissent were justices Harris Hines and Harold Melton.
Hopefully this will be the ending that should have happened to start with.
