There is big news today about Genarlow Wilson, but due to my work schedule, I'm a little late posting. Instead, I'll post links to the various stories and posts around the Web.
To start, it seemed as though the various efforts to have Wilson released had finally succeeded. The New York Times covered the initial court order releasing Wilson (HT: How Appealing):
A Georgia Superior Court judge today ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson, who has served two years of 10-year prison sentence for having consensual oral sex with another teenager at a party when he was 17. Prosecutors said they would appeal the order.
Sentencing Law & Policy had coverage of the early release and included a snippet of the opinion. Talkleft's coverage was here. However, due to an appeal by the government, Wilson's release has been blocked. From CNN via How Appealing:
Jubilation turned quickly to anger Monday after Georgia's top prosecutor vowed he would fight a judge's order that would have set free Genarlow Wilson, a Georgia man serving a 10-year prison sentence for a consensual sexual encounter he had as a teenager.
Wilson's attorney, B.J. Bernstein, said her client would not accept a proposed plea bargain that would get him out of prison because it would require Wilson to plead guilty to a felony.
A judge ruled Monday that his conduct should have been punished as a misdemeanor.
"We're going to keep fighting," Bernstein told reporters at a news conference at the state Capitol.
She was flanked by civil rights leaders and black lawmakers, who expressed anger at the decision by Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker to block Wilson's release by filing an appeal of the judge's ruling.
Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, called Baker's decision "unnecessary, unjust and unfounded."
Wilson's story is also being covered by some unusual sources. Because Wilson was a notable recruit and the attention his case has received, ESPN.com even got a columnist to cover the story. CrooksandLiars, a liberal political blog, also posted about the court opinion.
Edit: A couple other posts are worth mentioning. At Corrections Sentencing, there is a nice discussion of the conduct of the prosecutors in the case. And Sentencing Law & Policy has another post after the release was delayed which has generated quite a few comments.
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