A Pardon for Genarlow

This is an open letter to the Honorable Sonny Purdue

The ability for a governor to grant a pardon is a right left over from the days of the monarchy, when the king was the sovereign power and all laws yielded to his power. Our Founding Fathers clearly framed the law above the king. However, the Founders retained the unique right of the chief executive (i.e. President or Governor) to grant an unconditional pardon. They did not do this to weaken the law, rather to strengthen it. Sometimes the process associated with the law yields the wrong result. From time to time, a manual intervention is needed to fulfill the spirit of the law rather then the strict substance of the law. The case of Genarlow Wilson is just such an example of the need for a pardon.

It is difficult to talk about Genarlow Wilson’s case. It is full of taboos. In no way am I condoning his behavior. It was flat out wrong.

Wilson is serving a ten year sentence for engaging in oral sex with a girl two years his junior. He was seventeen; she was fifteen. Wilson is not a hardened criminal, deserving of a ten year prison sentence. Rather, he was seventeen at the time of his arrest and his future was bright. He was a track star, homecoming king and an honor roll student at Douglas County High.

The facts surrounding his case are not in question. Wilson, like too many teens in our society, was drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and partying. One female attendee at the party had voluntary sex with Wilson and other boys at the party while another girl voluntarily had oral sex with the boys. The fact that the acts were voluntary was never in dispute. One of the partygoers videotaped the act which proved the voluntary nature of the acts. However, the tape added to the justified, moral outrage of the adults who saw it. In the end the boys were charged with numerous charges including rape, contributing to the act of a minor, aggravated sodomy and aggravated child molestation.

The other defendants took a plea to lesser charges. Wilson went to trial. He was found not guilty on rape and the other charges but was found guilty of aggravated child molestation and was subject to the mandatory sentence of ten years in prison. The law, written to protect innocent children from viscous adults, eliminated the ability for the judge or jury to adjust the sentence to fit this particular crime. Several of the jurors have stated that they did not know there was a mandatory sentence and have expressed dismay at the sentence.

Of course, the real issue here is the rampant sexuality of our children in today’s society. Our kids are bombarded with a constant stream of sexual content from the media and even our institutional role modes (a president and an intern come to mind). Watch MTV or just about any rap or hip-hop video and you will see where both the boys and the girls get the idea that this behavior is acceptable. Parents are failing their children by allowing them to grow up desensitized to this behavior.

The sexual exploitation of our children is a major issue. However, the individual issue of Wilson serving a 10 year sentence is no less troubling. Everyone knows it is unfair and unjust. The state legislature cited this case when it amended the law to strengthen penalties for sex offenders, but reduced the penalty from a felony to a misdemeanor for some teenagers convicted of sodomy. If Wilson were convicted under today’s law, he would be subject to a maximum one year sentence. However, through the legislature’s incompetence or false sense of justice they did not amend the law to help Wilson. On December 16th, the Georgia Supreme Court turned down Wilson appeal. Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein noted that “the Legislature expressly chose not to allow the provision of the new amendments to affect persons convicted under the previous version of the statute.” With that, the Supreme Courts hands were justly tied. The Courts role is to interpret the law not to rewrite it, even if it is poorly written.

That leaves you, Mr. Governor, as the last best hope to right this terrible wrong. You are the last person who can help Genarlow Wilson. What he did as a child to a child was wrong and what the adults did to this child is disgraceful. Up until now the system has failed. He is still in jail facing another 8 years of a ten year sentence. Your ability to pardon is the last safety valve in the system. I ask you to take this opportunity to challenge the adults in our great state to tackle this issue. Challenge us to stop sitting idly by while our children are bombarded and corrupted in today’s oversexed society. If that goal is too large, too politically costly, do the next best thing and grant Genarlow Wilson a pardon.

Kirk is a member of the Lagrange Writers Group. He can be reached at jkirkhancock@yahoo.com