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View Full Version : what the hell is wrong with georgia?


Bob
07-23-2007, 07:40 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/21/us/21rape.html?em&ex=1185163200&en=58ec9c3500f7b7c7&ei=5087%0A

Basically the story is this

-in 2003, a 17 year old black male (honor roll student, prom king, clean record i believe) has consensual oral sex with a 15 year old girl at a party

-he was sentenced under an old georgia law, which makes oral sex with a minor a felony with a mandatory minimum 10 year sentence, plus he's now a registered sex offender for the rest of his life (if he'd just had sex with her, it would have been a misdemeanor under an exception for contact between minors). nobody wanted this kid to go to jail, the jury didn't want him to, the "victim" didn't want him to, the judge didn't want him to; apparently the jury did not realize the consequences of their actions, they were just strictly applying the facts to the law (i've learned in law school that juries are actually free to ignore the law when justice seems to demand it, but no jury seems to ever be told this, and the defense is not allowed to tell them that). but they went ahead and convicted him, and the judge went ahead and gave him the mandatory minimum 10 years.

- the state legislature reacts in horror and changes the old law so that his act would be a misdemeanor instead of a felony, but doesn't apply it retroactively, so it doesn't help him

- in june 2007, a county judge changes his sentence from a felony to a misdemeanor, and orders his release

what does the prosecutor do? he immediately appeals it! leaving the kid in jail until the georgia supreme court rules on the case. why? why would he do that? nobody wants this kid to stay in jail, but the prosecutor couldn't act quickly enough to keep him there. he says he was compelled to, but he had discretion, he could have chosen not to. what a dick

the law can be a real dinosaur when it wants to be

faz
07-23-2007, 08:04 PM
I've heard about this guy a few times now. Pretty messed up.

I remember reading that it wasn't even the "victim" that reported it. It was her 17 year old friend who was also at the party claimed that she had been raped.

befsquire
07-23-2007, 09:30 PM
1. why were the cops or the state even initially involved? i assume the girl's mother called them, but i could be wrong.

2. why wasn't this kid offered a misdemeanor in the first place so that it wouldn't even be at this point? or was he offered one, but his lawyer wanted to make him a "test case"?

3. this appears to be a very selective prosecution -- how long, exactly, has it been since anyone has been charged with this particular crime?

there are so many different laws that are meant to catch one type of person, but end up prosecuting people who technically apply, though they weren't ever intended to be a target. it's absolutely horrible. and like you said, you can't argue to a jury for nullification. the second you ask them not to follow the law, it's a mistrial. so you have to artfully dance around it, and hope the jury understands what you're getting at. even then, they're so scared about following the law that sometimes they won't do what they know in their heart is the right thing to do. and then they find out something like this, and they feel guilty, which just further erodes our entire jury system.

it's bullshit.

/rant

Bob
07-24-2007, 12:08 AM
i remember from civil procedure that judges can issue judgments notwithstanding the verdict (i want to say judgment NOV but i'm not positive, i barely passed that class)...i'm guessing that isn't an option for criminal trials? if cases like this don't call for that, i don't know which ones do

JohnnyChavello
10-05-2007, 10:14 PM
oops

JohnnyChavello
10-27-2007, 03:07 PM
The Georgia Supreme Court just ruled that Wilson's sentence under the old law was unconstitutional, as it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

Georgia Court Frees Man in Teen Sex Case (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071026/teen-sex-case/)