For more than a week, I had been anxiously awaiting Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson’s decision on the Genarlow Wilson case. Early yesterday afternoon, my meeting was interrupted by dozens of e-mails, phone calls letting me know that Genarlow’s 10 year sentence for consensual oral sex had been voided. Judge Wilson made the following decision:

If this court or any court cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish … justice being served in a fair and equal manner.

He also wrote:

The fact that Genarlow Wilson has spent two years in prison for what is now classified as a misdemeanor, and without assistance from this Court, will spend eight more years in prison, is a grave miscarriage of justice.

After 28 months of struggle, we had finally won!

I immediately ran out of my meeting and began calling Genarlow’s attorney and other friends in order to find out when he would be released. Unable to reach anyone, I checked the newswire and found out the bad news.

Less than an hour later, State Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed an appeal of the ruling. Worse, Genarlow was being forced to remain in prison until the issue was resolved.

At that point, I realized that this case no longer had anything to do with Genarlow. This was about Attorney General Baker and District Attorney David McDade’s obsession with punishment and “winning” rather than justice. How else could one justify appealing a decision that prevents someone from receiving 10 years in prison for consensual oral sex? After all, as Judge Wilson indicated, the drastic change in the law suggests that the State and its citizens recognized the absurdity of making consensual oral sex between teenagers a felony. How can they justify giving him 10 years for something that now warrants less than 12 months?

Like Michael Nifong, the overzealous prosecutor in the Duke rape case, MacDade has turned Genarlow’s case into a one-man crusade against fairness, reason, and justice. Unlike the Duke players, who never spent a minute in jail, Genarlow has lost years of his life because of sodomy laws (if it had been vaginal intercourse, it would have been a misdemeanor) that were never intended to punish consenting teenagers.

After crying a bit, I regrouped and prepared for the next phase of the struggle. Although I can’t disclose all the details, rest assured that no one has given up. In fact, despite the latest obstacles, we are closer than we’ve ever been to winning this battle. Victory is close but we cannot stop fighting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please take the time today to write, call, fax, and mail (do all of these!) your protests to Attorney General Baker’s and DA McDade’s offices. Make it clear that we will not sit idly as an injustice continues!

Thurbert E. Baker
Attorney General
Phone: 404-656-3300
FAX: 404-657-8733

David McDade
8700 Hospital Drive
Main Floor, Douglas County Courthouse
Douglasville, Georgia 30134
770-920-7292
Fax: 770-920-7123

REMEMBER: WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!