Why is Genarlow Wilson in Prison

by francinehardaway on January 28, 2007

Answer: because he had consensual oral sex with a fifteen year old girl when he was seventeen. And of course he lives in the South and he’s black. I don’t care how many people say we are a Christian nation. We aren’t when we imprison a kid for something many kids do, and no kid knows is illegal. When you were a kid, how often did YOU think of what the law was when you were having experimental sex?

Wilson was arrested, taken out of high school, and sentenced to twelve years in prison and a future where he always has to declare as a sex offender. The blogosphere has decided to get on board the issue and try to find justice for this poor kid. Mark Cuban, for example, (he owns the Dallas Mavericks and HDNet) has refused to do business in Atlanta or anywhere else in Georgia until the kid is pardoned. But Jason Calcanis has the best idea: use citizen journalism to draw attention to what has happened to the kid and get him some justice.

I’m writing about this because I think this discriminates against black, young males. What happened to the girl? She was there, too. I was a girl. I have daughters.

I know how to keep away from those situations, and how to provoke them. I know how mothers can teach their daughters not to give BJs at age fifteen, and certainly not to accuse the guy of rape if you choose to put yourself in the position to give one.

Daughters, however, often don’t listen. From my distant vantage point, I remember doing the same things as a teenager that these teenagers did. That’s because oral sex, as Clinton reminded us, isn’t really sex.

Let’s not discuss what my mother told me: I grew up in the fifties and my mother told me I would be struck by lightning if I had sex before marriage. I did it anyway; I had a crush on the boy, and when he paid attention to me, I would do anything for him. Until I did it once and found out what “it” entailed. That was the end of that for a very, very long time. But Peter M., the boy I did it with, didn’t go to prison. And he was no more a sex offender than the man in the Moon.

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  • Charles

    Should Genarlow Wilson be in prison?
    By Maureen Downey | Monday, February 26, 2007, 06:23 AM
    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    Two years ago, Genarlow Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation: As a 17-year-old boy, he had had consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. The conviction carried a mandatory 10-year sentence. Now, even the jurors who convicted Wilson wish they could take back the verdict, and the case has attracted national attention — most of it, but not all, focused on how to get Wilson out of prison.

    Some state legislators have proposed a law that would enable the judge in Wilson’s case to reconsider the sentence, but the proposal has run into strong opposition among lawmakers who believe justice was done in the Wilson case. Read more about the case, and tell us what you think: Should Genarlow Wilson be freed from prison?

    Below is an article that I submitted in the blog concerning the case that was rejected. Is my article too extreme for Americans?

    Genarlow Wilson should not be in prison. The criminal justice system should focus its attention on individuals and powers who exploit young people for political purposes. Today, we allow people and institutions in society to mislead the young and punish the young for the mistakes they make. Adults today are insidious. There can be no greater enemy to children than some adults. On the right hand, we instruct our children that they should make better choices. On the left hand, we program children to make choices contrary to the law.

    When people fifty years and older were children, most of us did not see a playboy magazine or pornography until we were men and women. That was our experience in the South. Only God knows what children were experiencing in the North fifty years ago. While in college, someone introduced me to Hustler Magazine and Larry Flint; it was extremely disappointing. Remember now, this was a time when white adults did not take advantage of children openly in this regard. They realized that if children were introduced to sexual images and topics before they were emotionally prepared, their development would be perverted. They gave children the space to mentally mature in the South before taking on adult issues. My God have times changed.

    Genarlow Wilson is a product of misguided educated adults. I do use the terms educated and adults loosely. The boy should not be in prison. These adults today will say, “but this child broke the law.” How insidious and sophomoric!

  • http://socialmediaclub.pbwiki.com/Phoenix chris

    I can’t believe you just called yourself a cocksucker =*^o … so are you a spitter, or a swallower (both work for me;~)?

    ” …I remember doing the same things as a teenager that these teenagers did. “

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