Jack & Jill Politics

I mean, seriouly speaking, can you even imagine the long arm of the law locking up a white under-18 teenager who got a consenting blowjob from another teenager separated by only 1-2 grades in school? There would be a whole lot of white kids in jail right this minute, fo’ sho’! Come on now. Let’s get real.

I am glad the law was changed in Georgia. It’s essential to protect our young people from danger, especially in the form of adult sex predators looking to victimize children. (Paging Dateline’s Chris Hansen) It’s also important to recognize the difference between an actual crime and normal teenage behavior when you see it.

One piece of context missing from this story is the ethnicity of the consenting young lady. How much do you wanna bet she was white and that this law was used as a form of legal lynching as a warning to other young black male high schoolers looking for a good time at their next New Year’s Eve no-parents house party? Because otherwise, you have to scratch your head at the illogical nature of the whole mess. Quite a bit of energy has been expended on prosecuting this young man and making an example of him. And it’s still unclear — Why?

From CNN:

In the decision, Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears wrote that changes in the law “represent a seismic shift in the legislature’s view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants.”

“Although society has a significant interest in protecting children from premature sexual activity, we must acknowledge that Wilson’s crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children,” the court’s majority found.

“For the law to punish Wilson as it would an adult, with the extraordinarily harsh punishment of 10 years in prison without the possibility of probation or parole, appears to be grossly disproportionate to his crime,” the majority opinion concluded.

As some of you might recall, this unfortunate turn of events happened quite recently:

Monroe County Superior Court judge ruled that Wilson’s punishment was cruel and unusual and voided it on constitutional grounds.

The judge reduced the sentence to one year and said Wilson should not be put on Georgia’s sex offender registry, as the old law required.

Wilson’s jubilant attorneys had hoped that ruling would free him from state prison. But shortly after it was handed down, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker announced he would appeal the decision, a move that kept Wilson behind bars.

The high court said unanimously that the decision to deny Wilson bail was correct.

Wilson’s plight drew pleas for his release, including from former President Carter, an ex-Georgia governor, and even some of the jurors who convicted him.

Well, according to the New York Times, Mr. Thurbert (Uncle Tom) Baker had this to say in response to the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision yesterday:

State Attorney General Thurbert Baker said he accepts Friday’s ruling.

Baker said he hopes the ruling will ”put an end to this issue as a matter of contention in the hearts and minds of concerned Georgians and others across the country who have taken such a strong interest in this case.”

Translation for Black People:

“All y’all negros and negro lovers around the nation can stop callin’, emailin’, bloggin’, writin’ me up in the papers, makin’ me look bad on the teevee, shakin’ your fingers at my momma in the supermarket, protestin’, generally raisin’ a ruckus and makin’ my life a living hell. I Give Up.”

We won, y’all!

Good luck, Genarlow and god speed.