I dont know if you guys remember the story but I know I posted it here earlier and you guys had great response to it. Well maybe things are finally moving in the right direction for this young man.
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ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia court on Monday ordered the immediate release of a man sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a girl when the two were teen-agers.
Genarlow Wilson, who is now 21, was sent to prison in 2005 for aggravated child molestation, then a felony with a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and lifetime registration on the state's sexual offender list.
A sports star and honor student, Wilson was 17 when he was videotaped at a 2003 New Year's Eve party having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl.
His supporters noted that under Georgia law, if he had had intercourse with the girl he would have been charged with a misdemeanor and received a far lighter sentence. But a loophole in the law allowed prosecutors to file felony charges for oral sex.
Georgia legislators changed the law in 2006 to make oral sex among teens a misdemeanor.
Wilson's plight became a cause. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and other luminaries wrote letters in his support. The legislator who sponsored the law under which Wilson was convicted said it was never intended to be used that way.
In his ruling issued on Monday, Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson said: "If any case fits into the definitive limits of a miscarriage of justice, surely this case does."
"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," he wrote.
Wilson's conviction was amended to a misdemeanor, his sentence was changed to 12 months and he was ordered released on time served. He was not required to register as a sex offender.
.................................................. .................................................. ........
ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia court on Monday ordered the immediate release of a man sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a girl when the two were teen-agers.
Genarlow Wilson, who is now 21, was sent to prison in 2005 for aggravated child molestation, then a felony with a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and lifetime registration on the state's sexual offender list.
A sports star and honor student, Wilson was 17 when he was videotaped at a 2003 New Year's Eve party having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl.
His supporters noted that under Georgia law, if he had had intercourse with the girl he would have been charged with a misdemeanor and received a far lighter sentence. But a loophole in the law allowed prosecutors to file felony charges for oral sex.
Georgia legislators changed the law in 2006 to make oral sex among teens a misdemeanor.
Wilson's plight became a cause. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and other luminaries wrote letters in his support. The legislator who sponsored the law under which Wilson was convicted said it was never intended to be used that way.
In his ruling issued on Monday, Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson said: "If any case fits into the definitive limits of a miscarriage of justice, surely this case does."
"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," he wrote.
Wilson's conviction was amended to a misdemeanor, his sentence was changed to 12 months and he was ordered released on time served. He was not required to register as a sex offender.
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