2008 Woodie Awards
Justice finally served
Joe Caporoso
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Op/Ed
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From my perspective there are currently plenty of injustices in the world of sports. The Boston Red Sox have won two World Series in my lifetime, the Jets are 1-7 and the best player on the Yankees just decided that getting 30 million dollars a year wasn't quite enough. If it wasn't for our football team being 8-0, I would have a tough time keeping my sanity.
Yet, none of the previously mentioned injustices compare to the injustice another athlete Genarlow Wilson received from the state of Georgia over the past few years. If you don't know the details of the case, here is a quick synopsis:
Wilson was a student-athlete being recruited to play football at a number of colleges; a kid with a bright future ahead of him. As a 17-year-old, he was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having consensual oral sex with a 15 year old. The girl involved in this case has repeatedly stated the act was consensual, yet since she wasn't 16 years old, she is not legally able to give consent. Again, Wilson was only 17 years old at the time. When convicted on this charge, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with one year of probation. Due to a very odd loophole in the Georgia legal system, which has since been corrected, had Wilson actually had intercourse with the girl, rather than oral sex, he would have only been subject to 12 months in prison. Another note to show you how ridiculous certain laws were in Georgia: until 1998, oral sex was punishable for up to 20 years in prison, even if it was between husband and wife.
Wilson refused to take a plea bargain to cut his term down to 5 years. Why? If he accepted, he would have been forced to register as a sex offender. He wouldn't have even been able to live at home with his 8 year old sister. Good for Wilson. He shouldn't have been forced to live under that label the rest of his life or for any period of time. Keep in mind the ages of the two people involved in this case. Imagine a senior and junior in high school going through these events, and then the senior being classified as a sex offender and child molester.
To make a long story short for the sake of article space, people found out about the injustice and began fighting for Wilson. ESPN began rallying support, legal teams began working on his behalf and even former President Jimmy Carter wrote a letter in his support. Finally this past week, the Georgia State Court ruled Wilson had been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment for his crime and released him…after 4 years in prison. Four years is still a long time, yet unfortunately Wilson is only 21 and now finally has the oppurtunity to go to college.
Yet, none of the previously mentioned injustices compare to the injustice another athlete Genarlow Wilson received from the state of Georgia over the past few years. If you don't know the details of the case, here is a quick synopsis:
Wilson was a student-athlete being recruited to play football at a number of colleges; a kid with a bright future ahead of him. As a 17-year-old, he was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having consensual oral sex with a 15 year old. The girl involved in this case has repeatedly stated the act was consensual, yet since she wasn't 16 years old, she is not legally able to give consent. Again, Wilson was only 17 years old at the time. When convicted on this charge, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with one year of probation. Due to a very odd loophole in the Georgia legal system, which has since been corrected, had Wilson actually had intercourse with the girl, rather than oral sex, he would have only been subject to 12 months in prison. Another note to show you how ridiculous certain laws were in Georgia: until 1998, oral sex was punishable for up to 20 years in prison, even if it was between husband and wife.
Wilson refused to take a plea bargain to cut his term down to 5 years. Why? If he accepted, he would have been forced to register as a sex offender. He wouldn't have even been able to live at home with his 8 year old sister. Good for Wilson. He shouldn't have been forced to live under that label the rest of his life or for any period of time. Keep in mind the ages of the two people involved in this case. Imagine a senior and junior in high school going through these events, and then the senior being classified as a sex offender and child molester.
To make a long story short for the sake of article space, people found out about the injustice and began fighting for Wilson. ESPN began rallying support, legal teams began working on his behalf and even former President Jimmy Carter wrote a letter in his support. Finally this past week, the Georgia State Court ruled Wilson had been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment for his crime and released him…after 4 years in prison. Four years is still a long time, yet unfortunately Wilson is only 21 and now finally has the oppurtunity to go to college.