Senators refuse to give Genarlow Wilson a second chance

By a 19-32 vote, the Georgia Senate rejected an attempt to modify a House bill so that a judge could review the case of a young man in prison for consensual oral sex he had as a teenager.

"I think it was raunchy, it was wrong and it needs to be punished," said Sen. Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody). "But we need to say we made a mistake."

Weber urged support of the amendment, which would have allowed the judge who sentenced Genarlow Wilson in 2005 to review the case. Wilson was 17 when he received oral sex from a 15-year-old schoolmate during a raucous New Year's Eve party. At that time, Georgia law considered oral sex between minors as aggravated child molestation, which carries a mandatory 10 year sentence. In addition, the charge required Wilson to register as a sex offender. After Wilson entered prison, however, lawmakers changed the punishment to a year.

Senators who opposed the Wilson amendment say they were concerned about the 91 other cases that could be reviewed if the legislation became law. They also say Wilson could get a reduced sentence if he worked through the court system.