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[Pligganease]

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A judge said Wednesday he'll rule by next week on the appeal of a man sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

A lawyer for Genarlow Wilson, now 21, asked the appellate judge to throw out the aggravated child molestation sentence on the grounds it is grossly disproportionate to the crime.

Defense attorney B.J. Bernstein noted that state lawmakers passed a law to close the loophole that led to Wilson's sentence

But prosecutor Paula Smith argued that the new law cannot be applied retroactively.

"The General Assembly did not make it retroactive," Smith said. "They had the prerogative to do so; they did not." She argued that Wilson should have to serve out the widely criticized mandatory term.

Wilson, clad in a white prison uniform, watched as his legal team again tried to free him while they pursue a claim that his constitutional rights are being violated. Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson said he expects to issue a decision on the appeal by noon Monday.

Genarlow Wilson's sentence has been denounced even by members of the jury that convicted him and the author of the 1995 law that put him behind bars.

"The law was designed to protect kids against really, really bad people doing very bad things," said the sponsor, former state Rep. Matt Towery, a Republican. "It was never intended to put kids in jail for oral sex."

In 2003, Wilson was an honors student, standout athlete and homecoming king preparing for his SATs with an eye toward college. At a New Year's Eve party involving alcohol, marijuana and sex, someone videotaped the girl performing oral sex on Wilson.

The tape also shows Wilson and other male partygoers having sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old girl. Prosecutors sought a rape conviction against him, arguing that the 17-year-old was semiconscious and not capable of consent. But a jury that watched the tape disagreed.

Bernstein compared the case to the recent rape case involving Duke University lacrosse players, saying prosecutors in both cases overreached.

Wilson has served more than 27 months in prison. His case has become something of a cause celebre, largely because of the legal loophole that ensnared him.

If Wilson had had sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old he would have fallen under Georgia's "Romeo and Juliet" exception. But under the law in 2003, oral sex between teens constituted aggravated child molestation and carried a mandatory sentence.

Georgia lawmakers changed the law in 2006 to make consensual oral sex between teens a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year behind bars. Offenders do not have to register as sex offenders, as Wilson will be required to do.

But the state's top court ruled the 2006 change couldn't be applied retroactively to Wilson's case. An attempt earlier this year to pass a bill that would provide a remedy for Wilson has stalled.

Wilson's most vocal critic has been Georgia's top Republican senator, Eric Johnson, of Savannah.

"This was not two star-crossed lovers on a date," Johnson wrote in an opinion piece opposing the bill written to help Wilson.

The five other male partygoers took plea deals. Wilson's case was the only one that went to trial.
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[Alyallen]

They did a piece about this on Oprah, I think, a few years back.

Man, did I think that was pretty sad. They had some jury members there and I think one or two started crying because they were not aware of the mandatory sentence rule for what they convicted him of. It's such a ridiculous thing that wrecked this kid's life. Should he have gone to jail...perhaps but TEN YEARS That's more than what drunk drivers who maim people get in a lot of places

[Hater Depot]

[cangel]

There's more to this story. Many people claim that the parent's knew their daughter was sleeping with someone from her high school. When they found out it was a black man, all heell broke loose and prompted the arrest.

[Alyallen]

Here's an update:

10-year sentence for teen sex thrown out

By SHANNON McCAFFREY, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA - A former high school football star who became a national symbol for the extremes of getting tough on sex offenders was ordered released from prison Monday by a judge who called his mandatory 10-year sentence for consensual teen sex "a grave miscarriage of justice."

But the joy felt by Genarlow Wilson's family rapidly turned to disappointment as Georgia's attorney general announced he would appeal, a move that will keep the honor student behind bars for now.

Wilson's sentence was widely criticized as being too severe, even by members of the jury that convicted him and the author of the 1995 law that put him behind bars.

His case became a cause celebre that grew from local blogs and TV stations to national news shows and editorial pages. Some supporters, including former President Jimmy Carter, have said it raised questions about race and the criminal justice system. Wilson and five other males charged in the case are black, as are the two teenage girls involved.

"As far as I'm concerned, this case is a throwback to Southern justice," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat.

Wilson, homecoming king of his school, has served more than two years of a mandatory 10-year sentence for aggravated child molestation. He was captured on videotape having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl in 2003 when he was 17.

If the sentence stands, he would also be placed on Georgia's sex offender registry.

At the time of his crime, Wilson would have faced just one year in prison if he had sexual intercourse with the girl. The "Romeo and Juliet" exception in Georgia law also would have allowed him to avoid the sex offender registry.

Lawmakers last year voted to close that loophole. But the state's top court said the new law could not be applied retroactively to Wilson, now 21.

Opponents of Wilson's release said it could open a floodgate for other cases. Georgia prisons currently hold 189 inmates who were sentenced for aggravated child molestation when they were 21 or younger.

Of those, 56 percent were white and 44 percent black, state figures show.

Black community leaders planned a protest outside Attorney General Thurbert Baker's office late Monday. Baker, who is black, is now pushing to keep Wilson in prison, arguing that his sentence is valid.

In his notice of appeal, Baker argued that Georgia law does not give a judge authority to reduce or modify the sentence imposed by the trial court. He said he would seek an expedited ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court. And he noted that a plea deal is on the table that would release Wilson in a maximum of five years and also remove him from the sex offender registry.

Not good enough, said Wilson's lawyer, B.J. Bernstein.

"It is really ridiculous when you consider that we had a judge that just said it is a misdemeanor that carries no sex offender registration," she said.

"It is extremely, extremely disturbing that the attorney general would take this action now."

Bernstein said her office was seeking bond for Wilson, which would allow him to leave prison while the appeal is pending.

The judge's ruling Monday threw out Wilson's 10-year sentence and amended it to misdemeanor aggravated child molestation with a 12-month term, plus credit for time served, and he would not be required to register as a sex offender.

"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," wrote Judge Thomas H. Wilson, who is no relation to Genarlow Wilson.

"If this court or any court cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish ... justice being served in a fair and equal manner," the judge wrote.

When the judge's order arrived Monday morning, Wilson's lawyers applauded and hugged his mother, Juannessa Bennett, who wiped away tears.

"I just feel like a miracle happened," Bennett said.

After the notice of appeal she looked stricken.

"It's heartbreaking," Bennett said.

Wilson's prominent supporters included Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who declared he would boycott Georgia until Wilson was free, and Carter, who wrote a letter in support of Wilson to the state attorney general.

The court battle over Wilson's fate also drew comparisons to the rape charges leveled against Duke University lacrosse players last year, with critics saying prosecutors in both cases overreached.

Wilson was also charged with rape for being one of several male partygoers at a hotel to have sex with another 17-year-old girl, but was acquitted. The party was captured on a videotape that was played for the jury.

The five other male partygoers took plea deals in the case. One of them has been released from prison and is now in college.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Does this mean that teens can't have sex with each other? How old would the girl had to have to been for it to be ok? Is a 17 year old not also a minor?

[Alyallen]

[The Bobster]

Um, just curious - was race a factor? I mean, it's Georgia, the guy was black, right? ... just wondering where that fits in. Or IF it does.

Am I reading too much in to those two particular things?

[Alyallen]

[Hater Depot]

Cases like this always make me wonder why the governor doesn't just end the embarassment with a pardon or commutation.