Justice Served

Well, the court system finally got one right.

This afternoon a Georgia man, Genarlow Wilson, was freed from prison after the courts ruled his sentence for a 2003 "crime" was cruel and unusual.

Here are the basics.

New Year's Eve 2003 Wilson is at a hotel room party with a bunch of other teens. He is filmed receiving oral sex from a 15 year old girl. At the time, he is 17.

Based on a poorly-written Georgia law, he has committed the crime of Aggravated Child Molestation. They are two years apart in age. The girl involved consented to the act. Despite the consent, but because of the age difference, Genarlow is convicted and sentenced to a MINIMUM 10 year prison sentence.

10 years of his life, and his opportunity to go to college are gone because he received oral sex from a fellow teen.

The state representative who authored the original bill has come out saying it was a mistake in how it was written. The law has since been amended, but that change did not cover Wilson's conviction and sentence retroactively, so if the same thing were to happen today, the 17 year old would not face a minimum 10 years.

This young man is free, and hopefully his life will continue with a modicum of normalcy. For more on the story, visit www.ajc.com