No bail for Georgia man jailed for consensual sex at 17
Story Highlights
• AP: Genarlow Wilson's conviction makes him ineligible for bail, judge rules
• Wilson serving 10 years for consensual sex at age 17 with 15-year-old
•Another judge reduced Wilson's sentence to a year; prosecutor appealed
• Wilson is backed by ex-President Carter and some jurors who convicted him
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A judge denied bond Wednesday for a teenager who's serving a 10-year prison sentence for having consensual oral sex when he was 17 with a 15-year-old girl, an aide to the judge said.

Douglas County, Georgia, Superior Court Judge David Emerson said Genarlow Wilson's conviction makes him ineligible for bail, despite a court ruling this month that reduced his sentence to one year, according to The Associated Press.

Attorneys for Wilson, who has already served two years in prison, are fighting to win bond for the 21-year-old while his unusual case makes its way through the courts.

The case revolves around a New Year's Eve party outside Atlanta in 2003, when Wilson, then 17, engaged in the sex act with a 15-year-old girl.

Under a now-changed Georgia law, Wilson was convicted of felony aggravated child molestation. Wilson was acquitted on a second charge of raping a 17-year-old girl at the party -- who prosecutors maintained was too intoxicated to consent.

Wilson received a 10-year sentence, which was mandatory under the law.

Partly as a result of Wilson's conviction, state legislators changed the law to make such consensual conduct between minors a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. But that change wasn't made retroactive, so it did not affect Wilson.

Wednesday's ruling makes it more likely that Wilson will remain in prison until at least October, when the Georgia Supreme Court is expected to hear his appeal, AP reported.

Wilson's attorneys have been spurred by a legal victory this month when a Monroe County Superior Court judge ruled that Wilson's punishment was cruel and unusual and voided it on constitutional grounds.


The judge reduced the sentence to one year and said Wilson should not be put on Georgia's sex offender registry, as the old law required.

Wilson's jubilant attorneys hoped the ruling would free him from state prison. But shortly after it was handed down, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker announced he would appeal the decision, a move that kept Wilson behind bars.

In a statement announcing his decision, Baker said he filed the appeal to resolve "clearly erroneous legal issues," charging that the judge did not have the authority "to reduce or modify the judgment of the trial court."

Baker also said prosecutors in Douglas County had offered a plea deal that would reduce Wilson's sentence, possibly to time already served, and place him in a program for first-time offenders.

Once his sentence was complete, his conviction would be removed from his record, and he would be taken off the sex-offender registry, the attorney general said.

But Wilson's attorney, B.J. Bernstein, said he would not accept the proposed deal because it would still require him to plead guilty to a felony with a 15-year sentence, which would hang over him until the sentence had been served, despite the judge's view that his conduct should be punished as a misdemeanor.

Wilson's plight has drawn national attention and pleas for his release, including from former President Jimmy Carter, a former Georgia governor, and even some of the jurors who convicted him.

Legislation that would make the change in Georgia's child molestation law retroactive in order to free Wilson failed to win approval earlier this year.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/U...n.sex.case

10 years?

What do ya gotta do for a life sentence?

I saw this guy on the news a week or so ago. This is very sad news. I was hoping he would be granted bail. His mother seems like such a good, down to earth woman too.

he was a good student as well.


its like the system is on some mission to ruin this kids life.



And where was Al Sharpton....at the BET AWARDS

Rhondab said:

It is really sad.

Rhondab said:

Al Sharpton is a complete asshole who only looks out for Al Sharpton. He's nothing but a media whore IMO.

Such is life here in the Bible Belt.

Interesting to note that in most states where 18 is the age of consent, this wouldn't have raised any eyebrows, but in GA the legal age of consent is actually 16.

Empress said:

There are moments when Al is correct and many moments when I'm like negro please....



This situation really should have more media attention but America wants to know what Paris is going to do with her millions of not earned money.....

Rhondab said:

Yes, unfortunately that's the way it is. The media is a joke. There was a time when it was highly regarded, but not anymore. All they're interested in is scandal and celebrity bs.

guitarslinger44 said:

People have gone crazy. Jesus.

The sex laws in this country are really out of control.

If there wasn't a real human life affected by this, I would be ROFLMAO. I mean, really. That's beyond ridiculous.

This is the same state that place stickers on their text books claiming "Evolution is only a theory, blah blah blah"



WTF. That kid was a straight A student too. I saw something a few months ago on CNN where they were interviewing him.

I understand the fear that drives people on the issue of sexual predators but they are using that fear to legislate Leviticus like laws on the land. It's ridiculous. If you strip it all down, the supposed "moral majority" who stand behind this kind of crap were fuckin and suckin at that age too. We need to stop with the hyprocisy when it comes to sex and we need to target the real problem and that is true pedophiles and sexual batterers.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Bravo -

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Yes, but the Congressmen would be out of a job if we sent them to jail. Mark Foley weeps.

Has there been any major pressure to have the Georgia governor intervene? In the '60s, bullets would have been flying by now over this type of BS.

Lammastide said:

I don't think so...

this proves our country is going downhill and fast.

What did he want, sympathy F@#k him!

oh shit she blew him... sooooo what..

If I'd lived in GA when I was that age, I'd just be getting out of jail....bottom line on this story is that the prosecutor knows he railroaded a kid into jail...not a sexual predator, a damned high school kid...good student, good athelete....so now he is fighting tooth and nail to keep this kid in jail...one can only hope that he's this overzealous about all of his cases...

....yet this story that clearly shows that justice is not blind or equal plays second banana to Paris Hilton's skanky ass.....

UN-fuckin'-real....

reneGade20 said:

Georgia is definitely original especially in the justice area.

Rhondab said:

AmeriKa was NEVER up hill.