17yr old gets 10 yrs in prison for a bj ...please DU the petition

[NVMojo]

From Tennessee Guerilla Women:

When a 17 year old gets sentenced to ten years in prison for having sex with a 15-year-old, I want to know what barbaric third world country we're talking about.

That would be the U.S. of A.

Leave it to a red state to take the crazed conservative abstinence only policy to new and insane depths.

The state of Georgia doesn't like sex, or maybe it just doesn't like young people. Either way, if I had teenagers living in Georgia, I'd get them the hell out!

Yeah, the kid is black. Sign the petition. And keep your kids out of Georgia!

http://www.wilsonappeal.com/petition.php

AP: ATLANTA - The Georgia Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from a teen who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with a 15-year-old.

In a ruling released Friday, the court denied a motion for reconsideration filed by lawyers for Genarlow Wilson, who was 17 when he and the 15-year-old engaged in consensual oral sex. He was sentenced for aggravated child molestation. . .

Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein noted that in easing the penalties for teens, "the Legislature expressly chose not to allow the provisions of the new amendments to affect persons convicted under the previous version of the statute."

more...

http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2006/12/ten-years-of-prison-for-one-night-of.html

[sweetheart]

1. If she bit his parts off..

... and he died from bleeding, she probably would have gotten less
time in prison than he did for enjoying it.

Our justice system is to punish pleasure, not violence.

[Selatius]

2. In place of that boy who had sex, that cell could instead be used for a REAL criminal, like Cheney

I can get 10 years for consensual sex with a teenager, but I can retire with hundreds of millions if I help slaughter hundreds of thousands of children? That's some fucked up shit right there.

[NewJeffCT]

9. Didn't Stalin have a quote like that

Kill 1 and you're a murderer, kill 10 and you're a monster, but kill 10,000 and you're a conqueror.

[TheMadMonk]

12. A million and you're a statesman. IIRC.

[cool user name]

49. Kicking ...

What the fuck???

[thingfisher]

96. One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. I read it somewhere,

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

98. There's also this Charlie Chaplin quote

"Wars, conflict - it's all business. One murder makes a villain; millions, a hero. Numbers sanctify, my good fellow!"

from Monsieur Verdoux:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039631/

[ironflange]

108. I've heard that he said. . .

The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic.

[xchrom]

3. it amazes that this shit doesn't scare the

daylights out of middle class america.

this is so backwards, so evil, -- that any parent who can remember being a horny teen ought to be horrified and angry.

then again -- never deprive an american the opportunity to punish someone.

[tkmorris]

4. Middle Class America is CONVINCED

That this sort of thing happens to "other people". You know, "those" people, especially the brown ones, but also the white trash.

Until, inevitably, it happens to them. And then they hang their head in shame and their neighbors shun them, believing them to be the trash they always thought other people were.

People are so fucking stupid sometimes.

[xchrom]

6. stupid ..... and self righteous.

it's an explosive mix.

[ElboRuum]

67. You know...

If it were an implosive mix, I wouldn't have a bit of problem with it.

[TheMadMonk]

18. Which only goes to prove...

The liar that you should trust the least is yourself.

How many can find "other people" as close as the nearest mirror if they think back to their own high school days?

Heck only about 25 years ago, no one, except sometimes the parents, batted an eyelid at a four or five year age differences between boys and their very much younger girlfriends.

[Quantess]

69. How about Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 13 year old cousin?

Oh, but they got married, so I guess God approved of them.

[Sequoia]

80. Loretta Lynn married at 13 also.

[Blue Gardener]

93. And she's a Bush fan

Why am I not surprised?

[davekriss]

127. "never deprive an american the opportunity to punish someone"

Certainly in keeping with the statistics. The US of A, Land of the "Free", imprisons more of its citizens -- on a per capita basis and in absolute numbers -- than any other nation on earth. More than China, more than Iran or North Korea. Speaks volumes to me.

The amazing thing is how well our institutions can maintain the meme of the "land of the free" in so many brains, despite the glaring evidence to the contrary.

[NVMojo]

5. please do sign the petition for the kid, thanks

[xchrom]

7. k&r

[malaise]

8. The judge is a sick fugg

What utter madness.

[TheMadMonk]

10. And the girl?

And how were they found out?

[usregimechange]

42. Sex police got them.

[seaglass]

46. One of the girls woke up with just her socks on and called her

mom to come get her, she had been drinking heavily the night before. She told her mom she thought she had been raped so they went to the police department to report it. This was a different girl than the one Wilson got charged for child molestation. The second girl I don't think even pressed any charges but there was a video tape of her giving bjs to all the guys.

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=158

[DixieBlue]

50. Thank you for sharing this ...

I'm reading it now. From what the one juror says in the piece it sounds like the prosecution was out for blood. Not necessarily justice.

[seaglass]

52. I don't get this whole letter of the law, spirit of the law thing.

My understanding is that jurors are supposed to decide a case based on what the law is, not what they think the legislators meant by the law, nor what they wish the law was - and yes, the law sucks. I think in most cases the jury is not provided with what the sentence is for the crime/s committed. I really didn't think too much of what the juror had to say after a cursory reading.

[DixieBlue]

55. It wasn't the spirit of the law stuff that got me ...

more the fact the jurors didn't realize they could've ended up as a hung jury. From what I read it seems that the jurors felt like their only option was a unanimous verdict ... that perhaps they forced the verdict? I don't know. That was just my guy feeling after reading the piece.

[seaglass]

57. I know, I thought that was kind of silly. Why would a judge give

them instructions to not decide, the goal of a trial is to decide a case. However the juror's responsibility is to make a decision that they are convinced is right, if someone agreed to go along to get along, that's their own fault - not the judge's.

[Ian_rd]

65. READ THIS - Juries have the power to nullify a law as part of

the judiciary's right to check and balance the legislature. At least according to this:
http://emporium.turnpike.net/P/ProRev/juries.htm

And even if not, juries should be informed of all options they have. In 2002, the Surpremes ruled that juries in death penalty cases must be informed that life without parole is an option. And besides, hiding options from a jury no matter the nature of the case is no different imo than failing to inform a citizen of their rights when they are arrested.

"Due Process Guarantees Upheld (Jan. 9, 2002): In narrow 5–4 split, justices rule that jury must be informed of life without parole option when defendant's future dangerousness is an issue and death sentence is only alternative to life imprisonment."
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0900955.html

[seaglass]

83. Thanks, that was interesting and I learned something new.

It seems that there are both pros and cons of jury nullification in our history, I'd have to give it some thought as to whether judge's should inform juries of this power or not. Some food for thought...

"Judges have worried that informing jurors of their power to nullify will lead to jury anarchy, with jurors following their own sympathies. They suggest that informing of the power to nullify will increase the number of hung juries. Some judges also have pointed out that jury nullification has had both positive and negative applications--the negative applications including some notorious cases in which all-white southern juries in the 1950s and 1960s refused to convict white supremacists for killing blacks or civil rights workers despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt. "

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/zenger/nullification.html

[Kiouni]

11. Now I know you can't be convicted of a recently

added law but can you be cleared on it? The state is trying to change the wording of this legislation so can he be released once the law is fixed?

[TheMadMonk]

13. my take is that the newer "lenient" laws have a specific provision...

...which essentially says: Stiff shit if you were busted under the old law.

I suspect though that the real issue, (based on location and the total intransigence of the judge) here is that the girl is a) white, and b) somebody's daughter. I might be wrong, but I'm not sure I hope I am. "messing with my daughter" type bigotry, whilst no more right, is at least a little more understandable than any excuse to get a n*****.

This one is interested to know, how many redneck n***** haters own an extensive collection of Black on White porn?

[NVMojo]

17. I agree, MadMonkey ....

[Vidar]

14. Signed & recommended. Anti-sex is anti-humanity.

[Morgana LaFey]

78. That's a pretty broad brush you're using there

ALL sex????

[Vidar]

97. No, but consensual sex between 2 minors 2 years apart sholdn't

be a matter for criminal court.

[AZBlue]

117. She's a minor, he's not according to GA law.

eom

[davekriss]

129. "Stiff sh*t if you were busted under the old law"

Well, except one law, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which retroactively forgives torturers working under George W Bush and even before (back to 1996). Conveeenient, that.

[dsc]

15. this is not the judges' fault

It is the legislature's fault. The legislature should have passed a law saying that it applied retroactively. Unless it does, the law doesn't.

[LiberalFighter]

38. The best and the brightest they got there

Of course every legislative body has screwups

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

86. I also blame the D.A.

The law doesn't and can't apply to every nuance. Sometimes the D.A. has to use common sense in deciding which case will be severaly prosecuted and which won't. Many years ago when I was a kid, I remember that the police would often just be instructed to give a first-time law breaking kid a good talking to and a talking to to his parents, instead of giving a first time offender a rap sheet and turning him into a hardened crimimal doing hard time. In this day and age, the D.A.'s office is often all about building a rep and gaining political power. The police doesn't care about the community in which they live in enforcing the law because they don't even live in the community they police anymore. And the law nowadays is treated as something completely inhuman, inflexible, and being interpreted by automatons. The same mentality is pervasive in the school systems, where 6 year olds are being expelled for kissing other 6 year olds, for bringing butter knives to school, and for turning in guns that they find in restrooms. Most of the time, the law should be enforced as written, but there are cases where the human factor must be considered.

[Megahurtz]

92. Legislators are Commonly Brainless Idiots!!! n/t

[Swamp Rat]

16. k&r

[H2O Man]

19. There was a similar case

in Delaware County in upstate New York about 6 years ago. A black young man actually got a longer sentence for having engaged in oral sex with a 15- year old. Though the difference in their ages was only slightly more than 12 months, he got a 20=year sentence.

He did not have any history of violence, only of being black. At the same general period of time, violent offenders were getting sentences that paled in comparison.

Some of the young man's friends approached me with the case. I contacted a friend who is a nationally known civil rights attorney, and we came up with the best plan available. The case was appealed to the NYS Court of Appeals, (which is superior in this state to our Supreme Court).

The process took about 16 months. He was released by the court. In that time, I corresponded with the young man, while he was in state prison. It was a terrible experience for a kid who really should not have spent a day in county jail, much less state prison. In the years since he was released, he has continued to contact me every so often, to say where he is working, and to confirm that he has not had so much as a parking ticket since his release.

[Catfight]

20. It's called jail bait for a reason, under age, stay away, period. nt

[RC]

23. So was he at the time.

This whole thing should have been a family matter at best.

[Arkansas Granny]

24. Totally agree. Consensual sex between two minors isn't something

that you want to encourage, but it's nothing new and it certainly doesn't belong in court. I suppose this means that the boy will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, too.

[TheMadMonk]

29. And if you're close to my age (40ish) and older.

Just how many of your contemporaries partook of forbidden fruit, or expressed at least a wistful desire to partake?

What is truly frightening, is that a good many of today's lynch mobs committed the very same "crimes", that they are baying about today, in their youth.

Whilst not at all trying to diminish their crimes, paedophiles are fast becoming a PC target for (too many) people's need to hate;

I also have a strong suspicion that a good deal of that hatred stems from fear of their own dark side. I've seen a report of a study IIRC a group of men were asked to rate photos of faces as (sexually) desirable or not-desirable. Morphing software was then used to combine the desirables into a single composite image. Invariably the real images that the composites most closely resembled were of (just) post-pubertal adolescents. I have a feeling that I've also seen, perhaps in a sidebar to the same article, a report of a similar study done with girls which showed their ideal man to be in his mid thirties to early forties, and with strong chiseled features.

Like it or lump it, we each and every one of us, have in our heads templates for "ideal sexual/breeding partner" that are completely at odds with modern social mores. And once upon a time, those templates made a great deal of evolutionary sense. Today all that stands between that inbuilt template and our overt actions is social conditioning and a conscious decision to keep one's hands to one's self.

[Zookeeper]

149. Well, my 14 year old daughter looks at any guy over....

say, 20, and says, "Ewwww. He's old."

[Frank Cannon]

31. Many states have "Romeo and Juliet" laws...

to handle situations where BOTH parties are underage.

Obviously, this backasswards burg is not one of them.

[LostinVA]

35. Romeo and Juliet laws are actually usually for if one of the kids is of age

But, there has to be a certain number of years between them for sex to be a crime. The age gap is usually two or three years. So, a 19-year-old can have sex with a 17-year-old, but nit a 16-year-old.

In this case, this whole thing is ridiculous. TEN YEARS.

[noahmijo]

34. If he was 17 then there's no underage laws being broken

[AZBlue]

118. Yes there was

Georgia's age of sexual consent is 16. She was under, he was above.

[noahmijo]

123. Oh didn't know. Well in Az it's 18. I guess Georgia's more fucked up than I thought

But I bet if they were cousins there'd be no penalty.

[AZBlue]

152. Yeah, I didn't know either.

I really thought it was 18 in every state but found a list - it varies from 15 to 18. Who knew?!

[MGD]

145. It was a fucking misdemeanor. Georgia Code 16-6-3 clause C states:

"If the victim is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age and the person convicted of statutory rape is 18 years of age or younger and is no more than four years older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

there is no question, this minor was given 10 years for a misdemeanor. The Judge and every lawyer involved should be disbarred.

16-6-3 in its entirety:
16-6-3.
(a) A person commits the offense of statutory rape when he or she engages in sexual intercourse with any person under the age of 16 years and not his or her spouse, provided that no conviction shall be had for this offense on the unsupported testimony of the victim.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, a person convicted of the offense of statutory rape shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years; provided, however, that if the person so convicted is 21 years of age or older, such person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than 20 years. Any person convicted under this subsection of the offense of statutory rape shall, in addition, be subject to the sentencing and punishment provisions of Code Section 17-10-6.2.
(c) If the victim is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age and the person convicted of statutory rape is 18 years of age or younger and is no more than four years older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/GaCode/?title=16&chapter=6§ion=3

[Der Blaue Engel]

76. How many 17 yr-olds are going to ask a 15-yr old for ID before

they get a blow job?

The law is wrong, period.

[Ian David]

21. Done! K&R! n/t

[babylonsister]

22. Done/kick. nt

[babydollhead]

25. done

[trumad]

26. I don't get it---what if he was 15 and she was 15....

Could he still be busted?

[rebel with a cause]

136. Don't know about Georgia, but

in some states 17 is the age of consent, so he would be considered an adult at seventeen.

What I would like to know is: The boy was black, what was the girl?

If she is not black, this could explain a lot about the court's rulings.

[rebel with a cause]

148. Or was the 15 year old a girl?

[BoneDaddy]

27. Totally ridiculous

I work in a high school and 17 year olds date 15 year olds all the time. Statatory rape laws have a purpose such as a 19 year old dating a 12 year old, but this is totally and utterly ridiculous.

Where is this country going?

[zbdent]

28. Only a few days ago, the media was squawking about how the older of

the two in a "child sex" case was not only the perp, but the "victim" ...

I would have to find the link, but there was a 12 or 13-year-old girl who had sex with her (1 year) younger boyfriend ... and the media went apeshit about how she really was the "victim" as well as the perpetrator, according to the law ...

[distantearlywarning]

32. As long as the sex was consensual on both sides

Nobody in a case like that is a "victim".

Are these people nuts? They don't think teenagers have sex or something, so every teenage girl that engages is automatically a "victim" in the eyes of the law? What a crock of shit.

I hate these kinds of laws.

And BTW, I dated a 17 year old boy when I was 15. Thank God we didn't live in the State of Georgia or he'd be a registered sex offender with 10 years in the pen.

And yes, it was all consensual, and no, I wasn't traumatized and society managed to remain stable despite the fact that we had oral sex. MORE THAN ONCE! The horror! In actual fact, I have fond memories of that relationship - he was my high school sweetheart and we went to prom together. We dated for several years, and broke up amicably when I went to college. Does that sound like victimhood to you? It didn't (doesn't) feel like it to me.

These people are sick, sick, sick. This case (and the Denver case you mentioned) is a travesty. Somebody needs to do something about this.

[H2O Man]

33. In many states

a 15-year old cannot give legal consent to engage in sexual acts, and hence by definition it cannot be consensual. Those laws are intended to protect teens from predators. Common sense would indicate that there is a world of difference between a 17-year old who has a relationship with a 15-year old (who may be 13 months younger), and the Mark Foley-type of vultures.

In NYS, a court will usually have an evaluation of the "offender" done by mental health professionals, to determine if: {a} the offender poses a risk to the victim; {b} if s/he poses a risk to the general public; and {c} if s/he would benefit from treatment. That treatment includes working with the offender to understand the issues involved, including but not limited to those legal issues that do not allow people who are 17 to engage in sexual relations with 15-year olds.

Unless force was involved, then the "a" and "b" factors seem low- or no risk. The only question that might be involved is if treatment is indicated. Certainly incarceration is not.

[Goblinmonger]

53. Yeah, but was he black?

That changes the whole dynamic.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

30. caught engaging in blow job while black.

This country has become evil.

[Lurking Dem]

36. My kid is in school in Georgia.

I half worried about this when he went to college at 16. He ended up with a 19 year old girlfriend and I half joked about statutory rape but age of consent there is 16.

I can't understand what this judge was thinking. Although, that the judge actually engaged in anything resembling a thought process, is probably specious.

[d_b]

37. Done. K&R

[Brewman_Jax]

39. Not the first time this has happened

Tim Wise talks about the Marcus Dixon case in GA a couple of years ago here http://www.lipmagazine.org/~timwise/sexacrosscolorline.html

[usregimechange]

40. wtf? k&r

[NashVegas]

41. Laws Like This Do Two Things:

Wreck a boys's life.
Publicly label a consensual young, single girl a "slut."

He gets the punishment, she gets the guilt.

[newportdadde]

43. Judge should have had them get married, that would have stopped the BJs cold.

:silly:

[IndyOp]

48. .

:rofl:

I am *not* laughing in the middle of a very serious thread. I really am not...

:rofl:

[TX-RAT]

44. Whats the age of emancipation in Georgia?

[smoogatz]

45. Hangin's too good for him...

Let's throw him in jail for ten years with a bunch of hardened criminals who will rape him on a daily basis. Then we'll brand him as a sex-offender for the rest of his life, so he'll never be able to get a job. Jesus fucking Christ on a soda cracker.

[DixieBlue]

47. This is ridiculous ...

We have people cooking, selling and killing people over meth and they keep slipping out of law enforcement hands but a kid getting a BJ gets thrown in prison? Jesus H. Christ. This is beyond stupid. BEYOND stupid.

Did I wake up in Bizarro World? If so I'm going back to sleep right now.

[JacksonWest]

51. The real moral here is not to videotape your high school gang bangs.

Seriously. the laws are archaic....but the whole thing was on videotape, and she performed oral sex on five different guys, who were all cheering, drinking, and smoking pot.

You can see how that would inflame a jury, eh?

So, the laws are a bit over the top, to say the least. I feel bad for the guy. At the same time-DON"T VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF GANG BANGING AN UNDERAGE GIRL AT A PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also-don't gang bang.

[DixieBlue]

54. But the boy in question here was found NOT GUILTY

of rape but guilty of getting a blow job.

I don't know if you read the Atlanta Magazine article that was linked in one of the replies but he would've gotten a lesser charge and sentence if he'd actually had intercourse with the 15-year-old.

[JacksonWest]

73. He was found guilty of everything he was charged with.

Rape wasn't on the table. in fact, rape isn't an actual crime in most states. Usually, it's sexual assault or criminal sexual contact. Here, I think the crime was child abuse/molesation

[MrCoffee]

56. funny, without the tape they'd have been convicted of rape

[JacksonWest]

74. Why?

If you're 15, all sex is rape(in that state). A 15 year old can't consent. WIthout the tape, the case may have gone away or have bee ncharged differently. And they all were charged, and all plead or were found guilty.

[KansDem]

132. Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I agree...sorta...

I just don't think any 15-year-old needs to be sucking cock, especially a roomful of cock.

Kids are growing up too fast these days.

Let them have a couple more years of hot chocolate, lemonade, and ice-cream sodas. There's enough time later for tasting semen...

edited for taste

[mzmolly]

58. Here's more -

http://www.wilsonappeal.com/index.php

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1710300

This is absurd:

As for the age of consent, it is 16 in Georgia. The law in Georgia provides if one person is 14 or 15 years old and the other person is within three years of age and they have intercourse, it is only a misdemeanor and no sexual offender registry. However, if they have oral sex, like in this exact situation, then it is a felony that carries the 10-year sentence and sexual registration. That is where the true problem in the law is.

I'm so glad I don't live in this nut bag haven.

Mr. Wilson has served almost two years already and will be labeled a child molester for life.

[AbbyR]

59. How stupid

I think a more appropriate punishment might be grounding them both for a e couple of months - no parties, no phone, no TV. But jail? Good grief. How stupid. Talk about overkill.

[Bob Loblaw]

60. Clinton's fault.

[Renew Deal]

61. This is one of the open secrets of teen sex.

If a parent complains and insists, you're going to get statutory rape charges. It's rare, but obviously it happens.

[Quantess]

64. Sure, I imagine it happens.

But....10 years?!

Community service would be the expected punishment.

[wiley]

94. It's one of the open secrets of racism as well

If there are one or more people of color involved, the male (or males) are guilty of harboring the seeds of moral decay. They'll be pimps or drug dealers, aiming their arrows or bullets of evil at decent (White) Christians because that's what animals genetically programmed by the color of their skin do. I think that's Matthew 6:9? Oh, wait, that's just more made up, demented hatred and sexual deviance that "some" people in Georgia politely ignore when they see it expressed or acted on every day by their family members and friends and ministers and....It's not just if a parent insists. Any good ole community member can wreck the same bullsh8t havoc in young people's lives just because they want to see others suffer.

[Ian_rd]

62. He would probably get less time for stabbing someone

This is the natural progression of politicians constantly one-upping each other with the nutjob right-wing base.

I'm a better family values candidate than you!
Oh yea? I bet I can post the Commandments in school!
Oh yea? Well, I bet I can outlaw same-sex intercourse!
Pfff, think that's something? I just made underage sex punishable by 10 years in prison! Top that, Jesus-hater!

It's the same way drug laws became so insane that a kid busted for possession couldn't get aid for college, but could if he/she had raped or shot somebody.

This is also a perfect example of how the legal system (among other things like education) keeps minorities and the lower economic classes "where they belong." Think this would happen to a rich white kid? Worst thing for him would be sore hands from constant high-fives.

[justice1]

63. Didn't Georgia also ban 'marital' aids?

[onehandle]

70. That was Alabama.

Dildo shops thrive in our "anything for profit" crooked state.

If having sex with minors benefited business, the age of consent would be dropped to pre-school age.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

66. Done -- K & R

[halobeam]

68. K & R....

please sign petition. This is just sickening. SICKENING.

[raysr]

71. Which state in the south is it

where you can get married at 12 years old, really, one of them.

[pdrichards114]

72. What about the Mariana Islands?

All these sick Rupugs fucks go there frequently to engage in sex (rape)of minors, then come back here and throw people guilty of the consensual sex in jail for 10 years, WTF!!! I can't take it anymore!!!!

[DarkTirade]

75. How the hell does he get in trouble when he's not 18 yet either?

Seriously... who in their right mind would prosecute this case? A two year age difference does not make one a child molester. How is one underage teen a victim and one underage teen the perpetrator? How the f*ck does this work(if you'll forgive the pun... none intended)? I just don't get it. What would have happened if it was a 15 year old guy and a 17 year old girl?

[Der Blaue Engel]

77. Listen up, California!

This could only happen in racist, backwards Georgia*, right? WRONG. California's newly expanded "Jessica's Law" (Prop 83) is far more draconian than this. You should be scared shitless and outraged. And if you voted for it, you should be ashamed.

*This is not my description of Georgia, just a paraphrase of some of the comments I've seen.

Edited to add: Signed, kicked, and recommended.

[Lucky Luciano]

79. HUH?

:wtf:

[Miss Chybil]

81. Signed and forwarded. nt

[montanto]

82. sounds like a war on blowjobs n/t

[Egalia]

84. Call the Governor - 404-656-1776 (FAX - 404-657-7332)

Apparently, the Governor doesn't want to hear anymore about this. His web contact form is down.

If Sonny Perdue can't see this for the human rights violation it is, maybe he can use our help in seceding from the Union. If red states aren't going to behave like they are part of America, maybe they should leave.

I updated the post with the Gov's contact info.

http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2006/12/dont-take-your-kids-to-georgia.html

[depakid]

85. The USA is #1

America has more people incarcerated in terms of raw numbers than any other country in the world. Think about that. China, Russia and India they all have less people in their prisons than the United States.

The so called "land of freedom."

[UndertheOcean]

87. WTF ?

:(

[shanti]

88. that's it

this is ONLY because he is black. :grr:

[UndertheOcean]

89. Why aren't CNN , MSNBC talking about this , rather than covering Trump and co live ?

Disgusting.

[Pastiche423]

90. Signed and sent

Along w/a donation for his attorney.

[Xithras]

91. I will NOT support a rapist!!!

Drunk girl = incapable of consent. I'm amazed that with the number of times the people on this board have attacked men for sleeping with drunk women, and with the near unanimity the people here have in the belief that bedding a drunk woman IS rape, that so few people are willing to apply that same treatment to this kid. The boys involved got the 17 year old so drunk that she eventually passed out and couldn't recall the sex the next day. Before she passed out, the boys...including the one in this story...had group sex with her. That's rape. Anyone who doesn't believe that getting a girl drunk to sleep with her is rape is on the wrong site...you belong here.

Group sex with a drunken teenage girl is NOT consensual sex according to any liberal definition I've seen.

My guess is that the prosecutor was pissed that he walked on the valid rape charge (all of the other boys in the group plea bargained or plead guilty), so he pushed the molestation charge just to make sure he served the time he deserved. On the surface, I can see how this case can raise hackles..."OMG, Molestation charges because two teens had sex!". But when you look at the WHOLE EVENT, you'll see that this kid is just another scumbag loser rapist who deserves all the prison time we can throw at him. I don't care what he did with the 15 year old, but I sure as hell want him imprisoned for what he did to the 17 year old.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

95. The boy was 17.

And apparently inebriated himself. Doesn't that mean he was raped too?

[Xithras]

99. Nope.

I guess you missed those threads. In most states with date rape laws, the onus is on the man to avoid the contact. If a man gets a woman drunk and has sex with her, and she regrets it the next day, he's automatically guilty of rape. His state of inebriation isn't relevant. Saying a man isn't responsible for a rape because he was inebriated and made a poor decision is like saying that a drunk driver isn't responsible for breaking the law because he couldn't make decent decisions either.

The boys got her drunk, which caused her to consent to a sexual act that she normally wouldn't have consented to. That's rape, and there's no way around it. Hundreds of men have spent time in prisons around this country for doing the exact same thing.

If you want to have sex with a woman, don't get her drunk first. If you DO, you're opening yourself up to a rape accusation. If a woman gets extremely drunk and propositions YOU for sex, pass on it. A few hours of fun isn't worth a few years in prison.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

100. So you're saying that's how it is, or how it should be?

Personally, I think it's pretty insulting to women to tell them they're too stupid to have a drink and then consent to sex.

[Xithras]

101. That's how it is.

I was attacked by feminists when I tried to argue the other position...so I gave up and joined their side :)

But yes, that is the current condition of the laws in many states, and it's a situation deliberately created by many on our side of the political fence. I tend to agree that it's stupid to claim that a woman is incapable of consenting after a drink or two, but that's the way these laws are written.

Ultimately the semantics of those laws aren't important to this particular case, and whether the girl was 17 or 27 is irrelevant. She was drunk, and the boys in the group took advantage of her inebriation to get group blowjobs, and later to have sex with a half-concious girl. We're not talking a drink or two, we're talking about a girl who was falling down drunk. Most here would agree that a girl in that condition is incapable of giving consent, and that having sex with her in that condition is rape. He was only acquitted on those charges because this happened in rural Georgia, where athlete rape is still OK as long as the athlete is scoring lots of points for the home team. Every other boy in the room with him plead guilty or plea bargained out of it, because they all knew they were legally screwed. He played the sympathy card to get out of a rape conviction, so the prosecutor hit back with the only thing he had left...the molestation charge.

Do I think that a 15 year old girl giving a hummer to a 17 year old boy is child molestation? No. But I do believe that this guy is a rapist, and rapists belong in jail. The charge may be controversial, but I have no problem with him being imprisoned.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

102. But in post #91 you were arguing the other position.

That the kid really was a rapist, and not guilty of a technicality.

"That's how it is."

I don't believe it. For one, it's a violation of the equal protection clause. It's certainly rape if one person is passed out, but only slightly drunk? I'm not buying it.

[Xithras]

104. We're talking about two different things.

I do believe this kid really was a rapist. While the law does create a technicality wherein someone with one or two drinks can be considered "under the influence" and incapable of giving consent, even though they're still sober, that isn't the issue with this specific case. The 17 year old here was incredibly inebriated, to the point that she passed out and couldn't remember the events the next day (luckily the rapists are also into illegal porn and videotaped it...I wonder why the prosecutor didn't swing THAT stick). There is no question about whether she was capable of giving consent, because by any legal AND ethical measure she wasn't.

The state of the laws in most of the US dictates that anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol is incapable of giving consent. While that may be a technicality in many cases (and one I consider to be unjust), in THIS case, with the victim being under the influence of far more than a "few" drinks, there's really no question. She was drunk, and these boys took advantage of it and raped her.

As to the legal situation, are you aware that all 50 states now classify alcohol as a date rape drug? Legally, giving a woman alcohol to "loosen her up" and get her into bed is no different than giving her GHB or any other date rape drug. Are they discriminatory towards men? Probably, and I'm sure that there are lawyers fighting this somewhere, but it's still the law in all 50 states. Since it's classified as a date rape drug, the AMOUNT becomes legally irrelevant. If a man gives it to a woman in the hope that it will lead to sex, it's automatically date rape...even if she consents or initiates the sexual contact.

Broaching this subject on DU is a minefield though, since most posts on it end up littered with sarcastic "Poor abused men" comments, and arguments that the legal situation for men is somehow justified by the trauma women suffer in these situations. I don't deny that it's troubling to have sex with people you don't like, but to criminalize one drink before sex is stupid. And yet that's the situation we're in today.

I apologize if I confused the issues, but that's how I see this situation. This kids lawyers are playing the press like finely tuned violin with this story about innocent kids sharing blowjobs, but the story completely misses the fact that the kid is a rapist who just a short time earlier had plied another girl with alcohol and raped her once she was too drunk to deny consent.

[MattSh]

121. He's automatically guilty of rape?

Where have I been? I thought to be guilty of something, a court and/or jury had to convict you.

So what purpose does the legal system serve, if you are automatically guilty before you even go to court?

[Xithras]

137. You know what I meant.

Taking sexual advantage of a woman under the influence of drugs (including alcohol) is rape IF she does things she wouldn't have done when sober. Legally and ethically. The 17 year old in this case was horrified when she woke up naked the next morning and learned what had happened.

[Egalia]

106. Misrepresenting the facts

"I don't care what he did with the 15 year old, but I sure as hell want him imprisoned for what he did to the 17 year old."

I'm not sure where you get your 'facts' but it's irresponsible to throw them around without citing your sources.

"After watching parts of the

[Xithras]

139. Misrepresented? Perhaps you missed this tidbit.

From YOUR OWN LINK: "A 17-year-old girl reported after leaving the party that she had been gang raped. The tape showed that she was severely intoxicated."

Having group sex with a severely intoxicated girl is rape. Period. Rape tends to be a very "he said/she said" type of thing, which allows many rapists to walk away scot free. The fact that this guy didn't get convicted for the rape...even though EVERY OTHER guy in the room did...doesn't somehow alleviate him of the rapist mantle. He, along with every other guy in the room, raped that girl. He just had a better lawyer than they did.

You want me to feel sorry for the guy because he was charged with child molestation instead of rape? Sorry, I'm just glad the SOB is behind bars.

[Autonomy]

110. Thank you

I can't believe all these people supporting getting a 15-year old drunk and gang raping her. While video taping it.

On the ironic side, Wilson's attorney's name is B.J. Bernstein.
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1710300

[pettypace]

114. Madame, reading

[Nikia]

119. I agree

If this was the case of a teenage couple or even a one night stand after meeting at a party and him not knowing her age, I would be sympathetic. I am not sympathetic of towards a rapist. Far to many girls and women are raped by scum like this.

[NorthernSpy]

130. making questionable choices is NOT the same thing as being a victim of rape

This kid did not rape that girl. She's not a victim, however much some people may want her to be.

[Xithras]

140. Disagree

When a woman becomes so inebriated that she can no longer give legal consent, having sex with her is rape. EVEN IF SHE WILLINGLY GOT DRUNK HERSELF. Is getting drunk with a bunch of guys around a bad choice? Yes, absolutely. Does that give the guys a right to take advantage of her and have sex with her? No.

[NorthernSpy]

124. she CHOSE to drink, and she CHOSE to blow a bunch of guys...

Those guys didn't make her do anything.

Maybe she regrets her choices now. But that doesn't change the fact that those were her choices, and she can damn well live with them. 15 is plenty old enough to take that much responsibility for ones actions.

[Divameow77]

131. If I read it correctly

the girl that CHOSE to blow a bunch of guys didn't drink, it's the girl that showed up to the party already drunk and continued to drink that had sex with some of them.

I don't think that girl deserved to possibly have been taken advantage of but even the 15 year old didn't want to press charges.

[NorthernSpy]

133. yeah, you're probably right...

Thinking back to when I was a 15-year-old girl, I was old enough to own my behavior, and I knew it.

The kind of female infantilization that some here are pushing always enraged me back then.

This stuff still ticks me off now.

[Xithras]

141. The 15 year old isn't the issue here.

The 17 year old is.

Remember, Al Capone was imprisoned for cheating on his taxes. They couldn't nail him for his real crimes, so they picked something minor to nail him on. Same deal here. This guy raped a 17 year old girl, but managed to evade a conviction on it. The prosecutor slapped him with this molestation charge because he didn't want to see the guy walk.

If the world was just, this guy would still be in prison, but he would be there for raping the 17 year old. Since it isn't, I'm not going to complain about the prosecutor putting him away on a technicality.

[Divine Discontent]

103. sheesh.. this is a TAD (joking) ridiculous

actually, it's TOTALLY ridiculous,and beyond that, that kid has to spend 10 years in jail for this??? they're KIDDING RIGHT?

personally, although I've never had sex, I think it's totally fine for anyone to have sex w/anyone else 16 yrs and up, regardless of their age, and if it's a 16-17 yr old, the parents must permit the relationship of course, but to think that a 15 yr old girl and a 17 yr old boy can't have oral sex, even if it was a dumb thing to do in some people's opinions, it's not worthy of sex offender status and 10 years of time!

so sad...



www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- antibush prodem stickers/shirts

[femrap]

107. So it would be OK with you if someone filled

you with liquor and then sodomized you?

I have never understood how males could enjoy having sex with someone who is completely wasted. It borders on necrophelia....sick, sick, sick.

Then to be so egotistical to video tape it? Sick.

Will humans ever evolve? Seems like we're de-volving.

[NorthernSpy]

125. Oh? And how did they "fill" her with liquor? Funnel and hose?

No one made this girl do anything!

She CHOSE to drink!

She CHOSE to have sex!

The only thing she's a victim of is her own shitty judgement.


Don't want to risk getting drunk and deciding to blow guys you won't be that crazy about come the harsh light o' day? I have a simple solution:

Don't drink at parties! Don't blow guys at parties! Don't blame other people for your own mistakes!

[femrap]

135. Aren't you the little libertarian....

What else do you want women NOT to do???? What other rules do you have? Hell, next thing you'll want is for her to stay home. And maybe wear a burqa if she goes out.

And the guys can easily blame the drunk women....'she was asking for it.' After all, women aren't allowed to drink, go to parties, have fun....without expecting to get raped....right?

Life ain't so simple.

That little football player rolled the dice thinking that he was all so entitled to do whatever he wanted and took on a jury of his peers....well, they ruled against him. Bummer.

Now he has to take responsibility for his decisions. Go visit him in jail.

[NorthernSpy]

138. no, I'm a person of the Left...

What else do you want women NOT to do???? What other rules do you have? Hell, next thing you'll want is for her to stay home. And maybe wear a burqa if she goes out.

No. My point is this: if you choose to have sex, you don't get to change your mind later and say that you didn't really make a choice. That's just dishonest. Making bad decisions after drinking is not the same thing as thing as actually being deprived of your choice and forced to have sex.

Drinking alcohol does not automatically render a person incapable of making choices. It just makes it less likely that the choices one makes will still seem good once the booze wears off.

And the guys can easily blame the drunk women....'she was asking for it.' After all, women aren't allowed to drink, go to parties, have fun....without expecting to get raped....right?

Well, apparently she was offering it with nary a suggestion of coercion from anyone. That's not rape.

That little football player rolled the dice thinking that he was all so entitled to do whatever he wanted and took on a jury of his peers....well, they ruled against him. Bummer.

He's seventeen years old. He and his actual peers are considered too young to serve on juries like the one that just condemned him to an automatic 10 year sentence for having sex with another teen.

Now he has to take responsibility for his decisions. Go visit him in jail.

You want to know why so many women -- and especially young women -- reject feminism nowadays?

Well, speaking for myself, it wasn't that long ago when I did consider myself a feminist. But I just don't agree with this dishonest sexual victimhood-mongering, and I don't want to be associated with it anymore.

[Nikia]

143. So would you support any of the following practices:

Military recruiter goes to bars or parties for the specific intent of recruiting drunken young adults. He acts like their friend, encourages them to drink more, and only when the young person is very intoxicated does he start talking about how great the military is and brings out the papers. The person signs the papers after he or she is so drunk that he or she doesn't know what is going on. Should that person be obligated to serve in the military? Would you consider it ethical of the recruiter?
Let's say that car dealerships, furniture stores, or other businesses that sell higher priced items were allowed to serve alcohol to their patrons. They might even give free drinks to those who listen to their sales pitch. Should this be allowed and customers not be allowed to return the item if they regret it after buying it while intoxicated?
Let's say that you have some people over to your house. You become extremely intoxicated. The next morning you realize that some of your belonging are missing. You question the people who were there. You find out that one of these people took those belongings. He claims that when he asked if he could take them that you said yes even though you have no recollection of it. You ask for them back. He refuses because he says that you made them a gift. Should you have any legal recourse?
For many people, when they drink heavily, there becomes a point where they do not feel in control of themselves and are pretty much at the mercy of others. Some people take advantage of that vunerability. Many 17 year olds don't have a lot of experience with heavy drinking or predatory men, who they may believe are their friends. She may be wiser, but to say that it was a good thing for her is like saying that it is a good thing for someone to be mugged while wearing signs of wealth while after dark in a high crime neighborhood.

[femrap]

144. Guess you couldn't pass the Feminist test, huh?

Do you ever think why in the world a young women of 15 feels she has to suck guy's dicks at a party? And the guys are flopping it out and hooting and hollering.

This is what relationships between the sexes has been reduced to? Exploitation of young women...the videos of Girls Gone Wild is just a part of our wonderful American culture.

Do you know how many young men rather stay in their college dorm and jack off to p0rn than go out on a date? Young men are seeing counselors because they view real women as 'nothing more than bad p0rn stars.'

Obviously you have done little reading on the subject of feminism. And very little thinking or introspection on the topic. So I am just going to ignore you because I can. It's my fucking choice.

[Minnesota_Lib]

105. Signed (and I will not point out the irony of his attorney's name---BJ Bernstein)

I will resist the temptation.

[lonestarnot]

109. Institutionalized racism and people worry about thought police.

Hmmmf. Done K & R!

[jgraz]

111. This is more common than we'd like to think

A friend of mine defended an 18 yr-old lesbian who had had sex with her 17 yr old girlfriend. If the act had been "normal" boy/girl it would have been a misdemeanor. But since the sex was "aberrant", she got charged with aggravated sexual assault and reckless endangerment. My friend was the public defender, and she couldn't save this poor girl from a felony conviction and a lifetime of registering as a sex offender. :grr:

[lonestarnot]

112. Macon Bacon and keeping this kicked GA!

[Autonomy]

113. If the boy were white and the girl black

this thread would be in an uproar about him not getting enough time in prison. It seems to me like the racism is going on right here on DU.

[Maraya1969]

115. Was the girl white? Just curious about how depraved their prejudice is.

[NaturalHigh]

153. No, she's black.

[AZBlue]

116. Age of Sexual Consent in Georgia is 16 - he was legal, she wasn't.

He broke the law. Having sex with her was a stupid move.

Nonetheless, 10 years seems extreme.

[NorthernSpy]

126. 15-year-olds get charged as adults every fucking day...

... and to not one murmur of protest from those who insist, in cases like this, that 15 is just too widdle iddy bitty to consent to sex with a fellow teen.


:eyes:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

128. BRAVO.

I'm glad I live in a country where the law's treatment of age is at least CONSISTENT.

It seems in the US, you are an adult only for the things that fuck you up, and never for the good things. (With the exception of driving. Detroit likes that.)

[NorthernSpy]

134. "It seems in the US, you are an adult only for the things that fuck you up...

... and never for the good things."


Exactly!

Like how you can be drafted to fight in a war three whole years before you can go have a drink. Sickening. And typical.


Glad to hear that Brazil has a more consistent policy in this regard.

[aikoaiko]

120. I assumed he'd be eligible for parole in 3.5 years, but.....

... it looks like aggravated sodomy is one of those crimes where you get the entire sentence.

From the website of the Board of Pardons and Paroles: Parole Consideration
http://www.pap.state.ga.us/parole_consideration.htm

Offenders serving non-life sentences, for which parole consideration is authorized by law, are considered for parole using the Parole Decision Guidelines. After investigations are complete, the Board applies the Parole Decision Guidelines to the particular circumstances of the offender's case and notifies the offender that he or she is denied parole or notifies him or her of a tentative parole month for some future time. Unless otherwise specified below, non-life inmates are eligible for parole after serving one-third of their prison sentence.

1) An offender will not become eligible for parole consideration who is serving a non-life sentence for a serious violent felony (rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, armed robbery, or kidnapping) committed on January 1, 1995, or later. Contrary to a common misconception, these offenders are not eligible for parole after serving 10 years on sentences greater than 10 years. An offender convicted for any of these offenses, and not sentenced to life, will serve the entire prison sentence without the possibility of parole.

[Pushed To The Left]

122. Done! n/t

[WindRavenX]

142. jesus fucking christ.

10 YEARS?? How is that not cruel and unusual punishment? :wtf:

[MGD]

146. It's a misdemeanor according to the Georgia legal code itself. 16-6-3

"If the victim is at least 14 but less than 16 years of age and the person convicted of statutory rape is 18 years of age or younger and is no more than four years older than the victim, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

Talk about a miscarriage of justice.

[slackmaster]

150. If you are citing the proper statute, the sentence is indeed excessive

Just based on what I've read about the case, 10 years without parole is too much for what the boy did.

I have mixed feelings about this. He's old enough to have known there would be severe consequences if he got caught and prosecuted. That doesn't make his sentence OK, but it reduces my level of sympathy.

I hope the process works and his sentence gets reduced drastically.

[GreenTea]

147. Get real...Georgia, a 17 yr. old Black kid, ten years in prison, so the girl 15, must be white and

blonde and probably pretty.

That's the sick reality of the law in much of the south still.

[NaturalHigh]

151. Actually, she's black.