Supreme Court frees Genarlow Wilson

[tony286]

They voted 4-3 to let him go. Its a good day today.

[tony286]

Originally Posted by tony404

They voted 4-3 to let him go. Its a good day today.

it was the state supreme court to clarify.

[Malicious Biz]

That's great news. It's good to see the courts finally did the right thing and let this kid go.

ATLANTA -- The state Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of convicted sex offender Genarlow Wilson.

In a 4-to-3 decision, justices upheld a Monroe County judge's ruling that Wilson's ten-year prison sentence was "cruel and unusual punishment".

Wilson was convicted of aggravated child molestation following a 2003 New Year's Eve party at a Douglas County motel room where he was videotaped having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. Wilson was 17 at the time. He was also charged with raping another 17-year-old girl at the party but a jury acquitted him.

The law was amended in 2006, but the Legislature did not make the law retroactive, meaning the change did not apply to Wilson.

Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears wrote in the majority opinion that the changes in the law "represent a seismic shift in the legislature's view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants."

Sears said the severe punishment makes "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment" and that Wilson's crime did not rise to the "level of adults who prey on children.

http://www.cbs46.com/news/14429718/detail.html