Today Mavericks owner Mark Cuban speaks out demanding an end to the continued incarceration of Genarlow Wilson. “The state of Georgia needs to come to its senses,” says Cuban. “This is a travesty and it needs to change.”

Genarlow Wilson is a Georgia teenager serving a 10-year sentence for a consensual act of oral sex with another teenager. (She was 15, he was 17.) The law at the time allowed the judge no other option than imposing the mandatory 10-year sentence, plus 1 year probation plus a lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender. Partly because of Genarlow’s situation, the law in Georgia has now been changed to view any consensual sex act between teens as a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a year in prison. The irony is, Genarlow has now served over 19 months, much more time than a teen convicted of the exact same offense would have to serve today.

Cuban voiced his support for Genarlow this morning when he appeared as a guest on The Tom Joyner Morning Show along with Genarlow’s mother, Juanessa Bennett, and Genarlow’s attorney, BJ Bernstein.

Cuban, who also heads HDNet, the first high definition television network, became passionately involved in efforts to free Genarlow after HDNet produced an in-depth documentary on the case.

Genarlow’s case is similar to that of Marcus Dixon, another Georgia teen. Dixon was sentenced to 10 years in prison for consensual intercourse with another teen. After Oprah Winfrey and other high profile celebrities rallied round him, Dixon won his appeal and was freed. Wilson’s attorney, BJ Bernstein, who also worked on Dixon’s appeal says, “We’ve been searching for a celebrity to champion Genarlow in a similar fashion, and we hope Mr. Cuban’s involvement will bring attention to the case and help us get this boy back home with his family and back on track for a productive life.”

“Right or wrong, many teenagers today are experimenting with sex,” says Bernstein. “But most of them have no idea it could land them in jail. This case should be a wake up call to all teens — and their parents.”

For more information, go to WilsonAppeal.com