Free At Last
By Keith Boykin, in race
Saturday, October 27 2007, 12:26AM
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Friday that Genarlow Wilson, the 21-year-old inmate who had been imprisoned for having consensual sex with a high school classmate, was to be set free. The court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that Wilson's 10-year prison sentence constituted "cruel and unusual punishment." Wilson's sentence had drawn widespread condemnation from civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).
In the photo above, taken by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wilson walks out of prison and into the arms of his mother and younger sister. That reunion brought tears to my eye. How sad that Wilson's family had to be deprived of his presence all these years just because a racist southern prosecutor wanted to make an example of a black youth. And how sad that this young man's life was virtually ruined because adults in power could not or would not see his humanity. For that our society should be ashamed.
As with the Jena 6 case, the Wilson case is another example of the excesses of prosecutorial discretion, which disproportionately impacts African Americans and the poor. In this case, the state Attorney General, who is black himself, had defended the prosecution and incarceration of Wilson, but on Friday his office announced that it would not appeal the court's decision, thus bringing to an end this ugly chapter in the state's history.
The state legislature recently changed the law under which Wilson had been convicted. The old law allowed courts to sentence high school students who engaged in consensual oral sex to long felony terms in prison. But the reality, as we all know, is that these laws typically end up being used against the poor and minorities. Affluent white boys in the suburbs don't go the jail just for having sex with their high school girlfriends, but black kids do.
This is all part of a disturbing trend of treating juveniles as adults, or more precisely, treating young blacks as adults in the criminal justice system. Society seems to have decided that when young white kids make mistakes it's part of the process of growing up, but when young black kids do anything wrong it's because they're incorrigiblly criminal. Thus, a schoolyard fight becomes attempted murder and a consensual high school hookup because child molestation. That racist mentality needs to be challenged and stopped.
Thank goodness Genarlow Wilson is finally out of prison. He should never have been there in the first place. But maybe now he can finally get on with his life.
Comments conceal
Brandon H
October 27 2007, 3:49AM
Here Here!
This tough-on-crime-try-them-as-adults BS has been going on for far too long, but it shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. The family courts system gets cut after cut, 3 strikes and mandatory sentencing are implemented, and people demand even tougher laws. Add to that a prison industrial complex that has an interest in seeing a steady stream of prisoners and I just don't see this injustice ending anytime soon.
Getting rid of mandatory sentencing and creating a well funded family court would help, but what we really need is to get rid of the self-interest in the prison system itself.
Cincinnati NAMjA
October 27 2007, 10:20AM
Thank God this young man was able to get out early...and yes, this picture of his reunion with his mother and sister brought a tear to my eye as well.
ChicagoChild
October 27 2007, 11:02AM
Well, people better stop with this "lock-em up" mentality. Now, there is a "sagging pants" law that many older Black people applauded. And they wonder why so many young Blacks are locked up. The net is always cast wider in the Black and brown community.
The parents should have accepted that the buck stops with their own daughter, who was a willing participant in this whole affair.
In denial that their daughter could be so sexually promiscuous, they decided to have this young man arrested and charged.
Darnell
October 27 2007, 11:18AM
Great news!! And, I hope that this along with the Jena 6 fiasco starts parents teaching young black men what I was taught as a kid, the law and this society is not your friend, and, you have to watch out for everything you do and try to follow the right path, or they will come down on you harder than anyone else. And, this goes for black adults as well.
Karmatic
October 27 2007, 12:18PM
He's Cute!!
I wonder if.....oh nevermind...
Derrick from Philly
October 27 2007, 2:27PM
Yeah, I'm happy for him too. But I can't help thinking about a cute piece of trade who could watch a "faggot" being beat and stomped to death, and he might even join in. I hope Mr. Wilson has a good life, and I hope he realizes how many BLACK FAGGOTS hoped and wished for his release--how many of us put race before sexual orientation...yeah, yeah, yeah.
Solo
October 27 2007, 2:50PM
ChicagoChild, the girl who the DA accused Genarlow Wilson of raping clearly stated from the begining that the sex was consensual and when she refused to tow that public line they threatened to prosecute her for filing a false police report. White people made a huge deal about what happened in the Duke case when the reality is Blacks are victimized by overzealous DA's all the time. For every duke case there hundreds of Genarlow Wilson's. Hell just a few days ago I saw a story on CNN of yet another brother who was released from prison after being locked up for 22 yrs for a crime he didn't commit. Mr. Wilson case is just the lastest example of how racist and arbitrary the just us system in this country is. Other dead on entry Mr. Boykin!
Dean
October 27 2007, 5:26PM
Brandon H hit the nail on the head when he talked about the penal industrial complex. Judges, prosecutors (who are often politicians), politicians, parole agents, prison guards, prison contruction firms and others are part of the penal industrial complex. They all feeI've been talking about it for years. I'm in California and when "3 Strikes" came up for a vote, I called it "3 strikes and I'm broke". The prison industrial complex tears a big hole in the fabric of Black society in the US the stats relating to it are daunting: 1/3 of young Black men in prison, probation, jail or parole, 44% of prison inmates being Black and on and on--HIV rates, unemployment, etc. If young white men were in prison, probation, jail or parole or if whites were in prison drastically disproportionaly to their numbers, things would be changed--quickly and not tomorrow. Since it's Black society that's effected, it's not a problem--it's thought to be a soluton. Think about it!
todrico
October 27 2007, 7:16PM
Genarlo is a very bright young man and sexy too. Check out his full length interview at msnbc.com....
Peace
ChicagoAngel
October 28 2007, 12:52AM
I actually thought he would have to stay there! Im so glad he is out!!!
Now that second picture does him no justice...that smile comes off sooooo....o nevermind!
Im glad this is over and I hope he can have that taken off his record quickly and return to his life.
Black Woman
October 28 2007, 8:36AM
I think it's outrageous for a young boy and grown man to wear sagging pants. Let's be clear, what I see are some black boys/men walking around with their pants hanging BELOW their asses. So, you see a lil bit of ass crack and their boxers/briefs. Thisis completely nasty! We all know some of these kids don't hit soap and water everyday. So, you also see a little bit of brown crud streaks. I saw something like this when I was waiting in line at Rite-Aid. I couldn't believe my eyes. Should they go to jail for this no, but they should be reprimanded.
algie
October 28 2007, 12:05PM
its times like this that remind me that god always has the last say
jazzi
October 28 2007, 9:06PM
Darnell said it right. As long as the power structure in this country is the way that it is, Black men will always be dealt with more harshly than anyone else. The most effective way to fight this is to teach these kids to stay out of trouble. That should be an automatic. What's so hard about doing the right thing? Of course none of this applies to Genarlow who, right or wrong, did nothing more than what most teens do or would do if they had the chance. I'm glad he's out & hope that he'll be able to rebound from this unfortunate experience. God bless him.
J
October 28 2007, 9:43PM
Does this mean gang rape is legal now?
Did he or did he not get a turn with a girl that passed out and watch all of his friends get theirs?
alicia banks
October 28 2007, 10:42PM
thank god!
when will people stop pretending so many
male and female child whores are innocents/saints?...
why was he punished alone??? who is she wooing now?
and when will people of all ages stop foolishly taping sex???!!!
i wish him the best in life and pray he suffered nominally inside...
peace
ab
alicia banks
October 28 2007, 10:43PM
thank god!
when will people stop pretending so many
male and female child whores are innocents/saints?...
why was he punished alone??? who is she wooing now?
and when will people of all ages stop foolishly taping sex???!!!
i wish him the best in life and pray he suffered nominally inside...
peace
ab
jazzi
October 28 2007, 11:40PM
How was it gang rape? The girl didn't say anything about being raped? I'm not saying it was right but I don't care if she was passed around like a desert cart. It wasn't rape. She was clearly down for whatever & said so. Check the facts. These were kids doing something stupid as kids will sometimes do. That doesn't mean they should be sent to prison.
loi wade
October 29 2007, 9:37AM
How could oral sex possibly be gang rape? That girl knew what she was doing. Were any weapons involved? NO! What the hell was she doing at an unsupervised party getting drunk? In this day and age with all the info out there she knew better. My concern is with Genarlow. what is going to become of him now?Every time he applies for a job, the conviction of rape is going to pop up. I certainly hope his family is going to sue. That boy deserves (and needs) some compensation. I really hope other parents of black boys take this as a warning and educate their sons about impulsive behavior. It is a shame but america has two sets of rules. One for them one for everyone else
Derrick from Philly
October 29 2007, 10:25AM
WTF, hey, y'all:
THat posting from "Derrick from Philly" is an impostering bitch. I might feel something like that on a alcohol ridden Saturday night, but I'd never post it on the blogs, especially this one. If someone hasn't given any evidence of bashing gays, and if that aint the topic being discussed--I aint gonna' bring it up. Besides that boy, I mean, young man looks to decent to be a gay basher. Of course, I never saw him on vidio--some men turn mean-looking when they're about to bust one.
The nerve of that imposter bitch. I think you might even be one of those bitches who don't like me from Towleroad...well, I never!
bellah
October 29 2007, 11:03AM
Did we all forget that the issue was and is that it was a white girl
loi wade
October 29 2007, 12:29PM
Bellah , I haven't read or heard anything about the girl's race. Is she really WHITE!? If thats the case, those boys should have pled temporary insanity. Not only for having sex with the trash but for recording evidence, DAMN!
Jas
October 29 2007, 12:29PM
Darnell is right! My mother always taught us, because the law says one thing and the "white" kids can do things and not get into trouble does not apply to your "black ass"...LOL! She always taught us that the reality of any situation is two sets of laws for whites versus blacks!
loi wade
October 29 2007, 1:02PM
Jas and Darnell you are soooo right. I have always taught my child that. But the fact of the matter is she goes to a predominately white school and sees herself as equal to her white friends. she can not understand why I am more paranoid about her hanging out in white neighborhoods than black ones. Sometimes they just have to find out the hard way. My brother(a west point grad ) got the windows of his BMW bashed in. Why? Because the rednecks that did it did not like this 'uppity n----' There was a bunch of white men standing two feet from his car. But, of course, they didn't see a thing.
Derrick from Philly
October 29 2007, 1:15PM
Loi wade and Bellah: I thought the girl was white also when the story first broke, but other posters informed us that she was black.
If I did write that crazy posting on Saturday, I truly apologize to Keith and all visitors to this blog. What I posted (or whoever the fool was who wrote it ) had absolutely nothing to do with the topic. I did visit my old neighborhood of North Philly on Saturday, so maybe I had some kind of flashback --you know, like post gay-bashing stress disorder...or maybe, alcohol related queen dimentia...whatever.
I apologize. How bizarre
Just goes to show, NEVER get on the blogs when you've had a little too much to drink--you'll start to cussin' out everybody.
loi wade
October 29 2007, 1:34PM
Derrick from Philly, I needed a laugh baby! At least you are man enough to own up to it and didn't respond in a negative way. And thanks for the info about the girl. That also brings up a point on the flip side of this issue. Don't black women realize we also live by a different set of rules than white girls? How come lil' Kim is a slut while Madonna is an artist? HMM?
loi wade
October 29 2007, 2:07PM
Derrick from Philly, I needed a laugh baby! At least you are man enough to own up to it. And thanks for the info about the girl. That also brings up a point on the flip side of this issue. Don't black women realize we also live by a different set of rules than white girls? How come lil' Kim is a slut while Madonna is an artist? HMM?
J
October 29 2007, 2:19PM
Many people clearly don't know the details of the case.
Stop defending these animals without questioning anything.
Yet again the justice system shows people how valued black people and black lives are. If it was a white girl he'd rot in jail.
If people want to rally around a young black man, how about the one that was BEAT TO DEATH BY EIGHT MEN WHILE A NURSE WATCHED. They WALKED for murdering him. Weeks have gone by and no one gives a damn about this, but people want to defend the Jena thugs and this RAPIST.
Had to ask
October 29 2007, 2:55PM
Did this child's momma know where he was while he was having an orgy inside a hotel room with a camera rolling?
What kind of parent????
Bellah
October 29 2007, 4:35PM
I'm with you J. While I still think this is an important case, unfortunately or typically depending on where you sit, there is no shortage of these kinds of storys.
Law enforcement never pays a price for killing black men young or old. and that happens in all parts of this country not just the south.
Am I the only one but has anyone noticed that the new cop excuse is "he tried to run me down" ?
FRE
October 29 2007, 4:52PM
I found the decision disturbing. Of course the young man should have been released, but am I the only one who noticed that it was a 5 to 4 decision? If one judge had ruled otherwise, it would have been a 5 to 4 decision against the young man. I'd feel better if the decision had been AT LEAST 6 to 3 in the guy's favor.
Obviously there is a lot more work to do.
castiron
October 29 2007, 5:23PM
@Derrick from Philly,
You are a crazy and funny man. You have missed your calling! You should be a comedian. I'm still cracking up from your apology.
MLee
October 29 2007, 6:19PM
Derrick from Philly, Your apology is accepted. That post just did not sound like the “normal” you.
Also, I have read in several newspapers that the girl in this case is black.
loi wade
October 29 2007, 7:27PM
Keith, Dear, How on earth did my previous post end up on here twice? You're making me look a little on the special side(haha).
cmoney
October 29 2007, 10:08PM
I am glad this young man finally got some justice. He was clearly railroaded and the situation was made even worse by the fact that the Attorney General in GA is an Uncle Tom Negro. He could have helped this man walk years ago, but he kept pushing for his imprisonment. I heard Genarlow speak on the radio today and was stunned by how inarticulate he was. I know he is young, but DAMN! I heard he was an athlete with really good grades, so I at least expected the guy to be able to string two sentences together. I am scared to hear what the "D" students from his school sound like! He was introspective and said that his thug like image worked against him in court. The gold teeth, corn rows, smoking pot on the videotape and rap music playing hurt him at trial. He seems to have learned that appearance and who you hang around matters a lot. Well, I wish him the best.
J
October 29 2007, 11:40PM
This can't be real.
Those of you supporting all of these teen thugs need to realize that kids are sitting back and watching.
Much like rappers, these thugs are being rewarded for violence and ignorance only it's worse.
People who are supposed to have sense are patting these pint-sized criminals on the back. Folks act like these THINGS are heroes, mini MLKs or Rosas even.
Let's check the score.
Good kids not fuckin smokin or fighting - 0
Sociopaths supermanning hos and beating ass - 1,000,000
MLee
October 30 2007, 12:40AM
J, have you gone to school with white kids? Using your words they are also “fuckin smokin or fighting” but do not go to jail. People, including whites, all over the country agree that Genarlow Wilson was treated unjustly.
MLee
October 30 2007, 9:51AM
J, you struck a nerve. White politicians in the suburbs used to point fingers at my city saying their schools did not have a drug problem. About a year ago, drug dealers started mixing heroin with another drug which gave a stronger high. This concoction would also kill you. Whites (boys and girls from good high schools, college students, men and women) from the suburbs were dropping dead like flies in the inter city. Some were found in their cars heading back to the suburbs with a needle in their arm. Others were found in college bathroom stalls. More than 100 people died during that drug epidemic. A majority were white people from the suburbs. Very few blacks were found dead.
SoCal
October 30 2007, 7:47PM
As a few others have voiced, I hope Genarlow has learned, and that other young black men can now see the importance of STAYING OUT OF TROUBLE. my sincere hope for this young man is that he goes to college with the scholarship money that has been collected for him, meets up with and is inspired by one of his sociology professors (that's what he wants to study) to write a BOOK on the ordeal, get a hefty publishing advance AND Spike Lee options the movie rights w/Denzel Washington to co-produce and co-star with, say, Evan Ross.
that should balance things out...
Chris
November 1 2007, 2:13AM
Obviously 3, you must be white because you are refusing to check out any facts on this case and the Jena 6 and really making disturbing statements.
In the case Genarlow Wilson. YES it was a WHITE young female he had oral sex with alone and she admitted it was CONSENSUAL. Her, and her mother did not want to press charges. But the OVERZEALOUS DA pursued this unfortunately.
As for the Jena 6 no one is saying free them. Just charge them accordingly ASSUALT not ATTEMPTED MURDER. However the white kids that attacked the black student their issue was dismissed as SCHOOLYARD fight. SO GO FIGURE AND GET IT RIGHT! If you're racist then MAN-UP and be about it. And if you’re Black UGH!!! What a HORRIFIC mentality!
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