By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com
When it became apparent that a Georgia Superior Court judge’s order to release Genarlow Wilson, the Georgia teen who was imprisoned for consensual oral sex with a teenage girl, would be blocked by an appeal from the state attorney general’s office, the public outcry and swirl of activity has been nearly dizzying in its intensity.
Attorney B.J. Bernstein went to Douglas County, where Wilson was convicted, to try to get him released on bond during the appeal process. District Attorney David McDade, however, refused to consent to a bond, and a Superior Court judge in that county set the bond hearing for July 5.
CNN television host Lou Dobbs ran an informal poll on his show in which more than 90 percent of respondents said that Wilson should be released. Even the mother of the teen who Wilson was convicted of molesting called for his release, but then backed off a bit after a visit from prosecutors.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference denounced the action and held a prayer vigil Thursday evening on the steps of the state Capitol. Co-sponsors included the NAACP and the People's Agenda.
“This is a prayer vigil designed to appeal to the hard-hearted people who are keeping Genarlow Wilson in jail,” said state Sen. Vincent Fort, (D-Atlanta), who is among several prominent supporters who have rallied to Wilson’s case.
Noting that Georgia Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Wilson threw out Wilson’s felony conviction, calling it cruel and unusual punishment, Fort said that McDade and state Attorney General Thurbert Baker “need to back off, and let this young man go home to this family.”
“These two men ought to do the right thing and let this man out of jail,” Fort told BlackAmericaWeb.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment