Genarlow Wilson freed; punishment 'cruel and unsual'

Two years after a Georgia court sentenced Genarlow Wilson to ten years in prison, the state Supreme Court has overturned his conviction. Wilson was 17 years old in 2003, when he engaged in consensual oral sex with another teen.

A Douglas County Court sentenced Wilson to 10 years in prison for aggravated child molestation.

A Monroe County judge later overturned the sentence. But that ruling was appealed by Attorney General Thurbert Baker. Baker said the judge overstepped his authority when he granted Wilson's motion.

In ordering his immediate release from prison, the Georgia Supreme Court called his ten year sentence, cruel and unusual punishment. BJ Wilson is Genarlow Wilson's defense attorney. Her argument before the Court in July, asked for a constitutional ruling on what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. "We've been waiting and praying every day. We've always looked to the court to fix this and the Georgia Supreme Court has and it's wonderful."

Wilson could have gotten out of jail months ago had he accepted a deal from prosecutors. But, the deal included lifetime registry as a convicted sex offender. Since his conviction, the Georgia legislature passed a so-called Romeo and Juliet law, making consensual sex between teenagers a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears says changes in the law "represent a seismic shift in the legislature's view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants." Sears says the severe punishment makes "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment" and that Wilson's crime did not rise to the "level of adults who prey on children."

At a press conference early Friday, Attorney General Thurbert Baker issued a statement saying he will not appeal Wilson's release.