Topic: Dear Que, (re: Genarlow Wilson case)

[WindAndConfusion]

You're the angriest person I know.

When [Genarlow Wilson] was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse, but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.
[...]
Barker is quick to point out that he offered Wilson a plea after he'd been found guilty -- the first time he has ever done that. Of course, the plea was the same five years he'd offered before the trial -- not taking into account the rape acquittal. Barker thinks five years is fair for receiving oral sex from a schoolmate. None of the other defendants insisted on a jury trial. Wilson did. He rolled the dice, and he lost. The others, he says, "took their medicine."

While Bernstein works on every possible legal solution, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office has the power to get Wilson out of prison. If the prosecution wanted, this could all end tomorrow. The D.A.'s office says Bernstein hasn't asked. Bernstein says she has. Not that any legal he said/she said matters. Only the prosecutors' opinion does, and according to at least one legal expert, prosecutorial ego is more of a factor in this case than race. The folks in Douglas County are playing god with Genarlow Wilson's life.

"We can set aside his sentence," Barker says. "Legally, it's still possible for us to set aside his sentence and give him a new sentence to a lesser charge. But it's up to us. He has no control over it."

Please kill that stupid fucktard Barker. Start by shooting his testicles.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=wilson

[Cobra951]

Assuming the quote tells the whole story, I would be tempted to shoot that bastard myself.

[angrykeebler]

lulz

[Pugnate]

WTF.... I just read the article and it is nuts. I guess this is bound to happen when prosecutors aren't looking for justice, but just looking to forward their careers by increasing the number of convictions. To them this case was just a number.

[iPPi]

Wow, that's pretty bad.  I mean, what pug said seems to be an accurate decision, the prosecutor just want to further their career and don't care about this dude at all.

[Quemaqua]

I'm the angriest person you know?  I'm honored.  And here I thought all my efforts were going unnoticed.

It's an odd story.  Being my archaic and Puritanical self and all I obviously have misgivings about all this, but the guy didn't start it and he wasn't 18.  You shouldn't be able to do a damn thing to the guy.  It isn't right to play with somebody's life for a mistake that you can't really even call a mistake.  I could give as little of a shit about the kid as the prosecutors (I hate jocks), but the fact is that this just plain shouldn't be able to happen.  The fact that it *can* points to how horrendously stupid our legal system often is these days.  Stories like this should be fewer and farther between than they are.

So yeah, everyone involved in this should be shot in the face.  If I had the energy, I'd be happy to do it.

But I'm kinda' tired.

[gpw11]

This is getting so much national press he'll be out in a few weeks.  There's actually a bill on the table in the state legislature I believe.

I remember a few years ago listining to Tom Lykos or however you spell it, and they had this kind of thing as a topic for the show.  It's amazing how many people get fucked by laws like this and stat rape laws.  The ammount of people calling in who did jail time and have a criminal record for having sex with a 16 or 17 year old when they were 18 or 19 is staggering.  One guy was even talking about how he couldn't get a good job at all even though he had two degrees because he had to disclose his criminal record and stat. rape doesn't sound good.  The kicker is he married his highschool girlfriend...the one he aparently raped.

[idolminds]

This is a product of our retarded "zero tolerance" policies and laws. Life isn't black and white and you need to take things on a case by case basis.

It works though, and scares people into compliance (at least, the regular people. These laws don't stop rapists or whatever).

For example, most schools are ZT on bringing weapons to schools, like guns and knives. On the surface people think thats a great rule to have. Man, it'll stop kids from starting fights and stabbing/shooting their classmates. Its not black and white, though. Back when I was in grade school...like 3rd grade, I brought a knife to school. It wasnt small, had like a 4 inch blade. It was my pocket knife I was using when camping the previous weekend and I left it in my jacket pocket. Complete accident. That doesnt matter with ZT. If it was in effect back then I would have been expelled.

A more recent example, more bullshit.

And most laws are set up that dont make sense. I have a pocket knife on my keyring. Its handy to have. Little inch and a half swiss army deal. When I was an election judge I used it to open the boxes stuff they give us. The lady working with us said "Are you allowed to have that?" I brushed it off...it was 6am and we needed that shit opened. Later I find a lot of those laws are if ANYONE brings those items to a school they can be arrested, not just students.

[Quemaqua]

I'm on both sides of this issue.  I hate the fact that we have behavioral regulation laws like this, and in many circumstances I think they end up serving the wrong ends.  But give me a fucking break.  These people know what's going to happen if the parents find out, and they do it anyway.  Who's the idiot?  Whether or not you think the laws are good or bad or otherwise, how hard is it to avoid this shit?  But people don't give a fuck, which only tells more of their inability to control themselves and act responsibly, which is the whole point in the first fucking place.  Parents want to take care of their children and that's why the stat rape laws were made.  It isn't "rape" in the sense of forcible sex, it's rape in the sense that kids are mentally incapable of managing a healthy sex life 80% of the time.  I work for the department of child support, so you can talk to me all fucking day and night about how untrue that statement is and it won't make a lick of difference.  I know better and you don't know shit until you see what I see every day.  People are fucking morons and they'll do anything at any time regardless of how smart it may or may not be, and when it comes to sex, you may as well throw the book out the fucking window.  But obviously that doesn't mean that all people are this stupid or even the majority necessarily, so how can you make laws like this?  I don't know.

It just goes around and around, and comes back to an interesting quote I heard a while back about how laws regulating behavior start coming into effect when people cease to be capable of regulating themselves.  I think that speaks volumes of truth.  These laws shouldn't be necessary, but I repeat: people are fucking morons.  So the laws get made to protect the stupid fuckers, then time goes by and the laws get too extreme and too broad, and before you know it, you're where we are now.  It's just another side effect of the devolution of people and society.  We want more freedom all the time but continue to degrade in our ability to know how to properly use it.  And I don't see that changing.  Does that mean making more laws is going to fix things?  Nope.  We need better suggestions.

[idolminds]

I think a lot of these stupid laws are from the baby boomer generation that grew up in the 60s and 70s, doing lots of drugs and having lots of sex. They now dont want their kids doing what they did, so they get these laws passed thinking that will solve everything.

Face it, teens want to have sex. You aren't going to stop it. 15 and 17? Shit man, I'd be more surprised if they didn't fool around. All this law will do is catch maybe a handful of really bad people and completely fuck over the lives of everyone else involved.

There is also a horrible area for abuse. 15 and 17 year olds have sex, they are BF/GF for 3 years...whatever. They break up and its not a nice breakup. One of them can pull the rape charge and fuck over the guys life to get back at him (and lets face it, guys will never pull rape charges on a chick). There is nothing the guy can do. Its bullshit.

[WindAndConfusion]

This is getting so much national press he'll be out in a few weeks. 

He's been in jail two years already, and there's been national press the whole time. Why should something change now?

There's actually a bill on the table floor in the state legislature I believe.

The bill is specifically not retroactive.

[gpw11]

Really?  I thought this was a more recent case.  I take it that the newest surge in press is due to the bill on the floor