I really debated this with myself. This blog is usually reasonably humorous and informative, and I hesitate to take a stand on something more highly charged than, say, "Hang Mora!" But I suspect many of you are from Georgia and I wonder how many of you know about this particular story. First off, the link is here at ESPN.com. Go ahead and read it. I'll wait.
*whistles
*sticks pins in Jason Webster voodoo doll
*knits a sweater
OK, you're done. If you're anything like me, you probably reacted exactly the same way I did.
This is absolute horseshit.
Where to even begin? The kid made some mistakes, no doubt. There's no way to know exactly how his life would've turned out otherwise, but you give good kids a chance. Someone who was obviously a terrific son, a good friend, and a good student is someone who deserves a chance to make his own mistakes. He's not someone who deserves to be in prison. He's not a sexual predator. He's a kid who made something you can argue was a mistake--a 17 year old having alcohol and receiving oral sex from a 15 year old. But it's not a criminal offense in anywhere but Bizarro World and Georgia, and so this poor bastard is in prison for ten goddamn years. I'm disgusted that someone who had the courage to refuse a suspended sentence and who stood up and said to the world that he was not a sexual predator was punished so severely. The prosecutors in this case come off looking ridiculously bad. It's almost like they're comic book bad guys. And you know what? Maybe they are.
I don't like to smear people I don't even know. As a sports blogger, you eventually get used to doing it with a little bit of humor. It definitely cuts down on the bite of it. But for no one to stand up along the line and say that Genarlow Wilson was getting absolutely screwed by the justice system seems absurd. There are murderers and drunk drivers out there who are serving less than ten years, and there are even rapists and child molestors who have weaseled out of years. It breaks my heart to think of this kid stuck in jail and his mom sitting at home, waiting for her son to come home. If there's any justice in the world, which appears increasingly unlikely, then someone will grow a heart or a brain and figure a way to get him out of there.
Because until Genarlow Wilson is free, there really is an outrageous injustice going on in Georgia. I would strongly encourage anybody to head over to Wilson Appeal.com and see what you can do to help, if you're so inclined.