Comments on: Wilson released.

By: The Comma Guy

The Comma Guy — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:02:10 +0000

NGAboy – Mr. Towery has been as quick as BJ and the Rev Al to jump in front of a camera whenever Genarlow is the topic for discussion. The problem with Mr. Towery’s position is that the bill he authored, which was changed by the Senate, came back through the House. It was not changed. For almost 10 years Mr. Towery was silent. To my knowledge, he never stood up in a public venue or before the General Assembly and called on them to change the bill…until the Douglasville case made the news. If he had gone back year after year to get the law changed to reflect what he claims was the original intent, then I’d respect that. But not now – and that is why I take what Mr. Towery claims with a grain of salt.

As I said up thread, I hope that everyone in the media keeps up with the number of folks who get relief based on the Wilson case.

By: Bill Simon

Bill Simon — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:52:49 +0000

And Senator Eric Johnson wouldn’t know “Wisdom” if it bit him on his rear-end.

By: NGAboy

NGAboy — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:51:10 +0000

Former state Rep. Matt Towery, the InsiderAdvantage CEO who authored the law under which Wilson was sentenced, told CBS news: “The Georgia Supreme Court displayed wisdom and moderation and reflected the true intent which we had in passing the original child protection act. I am gratified that the court made a just and fair decision.”

According to this, the court did what they were supposed to do, here, the author of the bill states that the courts decision upheld what he had intended the bill to be.

By: Burdell

Burdell — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 02:12:10 +0000

The case is being discussed by Eugene Volokh.

http://volokh.com/posts/1193415573.shtml

By: jm

jm — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:09:24 +0000

Look, if a bunch of sixteen or seventeen year olds are caught, no foul. If it was a sixteen year old with a pre-teen, I don’t think freeing Wilson will apply.
This case was about justice, and the fact that the men who could have made this right decided not to.

By: Chris Farris

Chris Farris — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 14:06:51 +0000

Well, its easier to sell newspapers and buy votes with stories of “pedophiles running rampant in our streets” than boring stuff like Grady’s Governance structure, or the average inflow and out-flow of lake lanier.

By: The Comma Guy

The Comma Guy — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 12:56:18 +0000

Bill – no. But then again, I also like my three branches of government separate.

By the way – did anyone see the AJC this AM? Love these quotes:

DOC – 58 of 1322 inmates imprisoned for agg child molestation were 18 or younger at sentencing.

Lisa Kung, director of the Southern Center”a handful at most” will be freed based on the Wilson ruling.

Sen. Eric Johnson “hundreds of sexual predators” could be freed

Chief Justice Sears “only a small number of individuals” would meet the unique facts and circumstances of Genarlow

Sen. Vincent Fort “there are a thousand – ten thousand – Genarlows”

———————————————-

It’s going to be an interesting winter. I hope that the newspaper and other forms of the media will be willing to keep up with the number and stories of the other inmates who seek and get relief based on this decision.

I also wonder how the Mercer Law Professor and her students are going to handle Justice Sears’s attempt at distinguishing out Widner’s case from Genarlow’s.

By: Bill Simon

Bill Simon — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:08:26 +0000

Comma Guy,

Sooooo, doing something half-assed counts as “doing something to fix a problem,” huh?

Do you demand the upper limit of mediocrity in your own professional occupation as you appear to willingly accept from your government?

By: Decaturguy

Decaturguy — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:35:00 +0000

If you’d actually listen more often, Chris, you and I would probably agree more.

By: Chris Farris

Chris Farris — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:31:30 +0000

Wow, DecaturGuy and I agree.

By: The Comma Guy

The Comma Guy — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:56:50 +0000

rugby fan – actually the legislature did do something about it. The judiciary just didn’t like the fix and made their own.

By: Bill Simon

Bill Simon — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:43:52 +0000

Sears just left out the word “should” as in “…no one should have a better sense…”

Oh, wait. Maybe I’m leaping to too much of a conclusion when I use the phrase “better sense.”

By: Burdell

Burdell — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:16:43 +0000

Did anyone else catch this bit from the majority?

“…no one has a better sense of the evolving standards of decency in this State than our elected representatives…”

Apparently, Justice Sears hasn’t been to certain offices in the State Capitol lately.

By: Decaturguy

Decaturguy — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:10:38 +0000

Steve is absolutely right. Judges do not seek to be “activists.” But they are often faced with cleaning up the messes that are created by morons in the legislature and, in this case, prosecutors and an attorney general who are playing politics rather than usuing the discretion they are provided under the law.

By: LoyaltyIsMyHonor

LoyaltyIsMyHonor — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:08:33 +0000

Lock up your daughters!

By: Burdell

Burdell — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:56:51 +0000

It’s about time.

By: Chris Farris

Chris Farris — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:32:23 +0000

Good for the State Supreme Court and good for Genarlow.

Nice to see Justice done

By: YourFutureLeader

YourFutureLeader — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:31:30 +0000

Good to hear he was finally released, damn shame it took so long.

By: rugby_fan

rugby_fan — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:59:19 +0000

Steve:

Are you suggesting Sonny Do could have easily done something to solve a problem, but chose not to?

By: StevePerkins

StevePerkins — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:54:51 +0000

I’m generally not a big fan of judicial overreach, but it’s a damn shame that it came down to that in this case because the legislative and executive branches couldn’t get off their duffs and fix the problem. The fact that they changed the law shows that neither branch seriously believes that a 17-year old should face a TEN YEAR sentence for sex with a 15-year old classmate. The legislature had the power to correct this injustice by drafting the law retroactively, and the governor had the power to achieve the same result by commuting the sentence. Why neither branch chose to take action just baffles me. I’m not happy to see this remedy come from the judicial branch, but I’m not sad to see it come from SOMEBODY. Shame on Sonny and the legislature for letting it come to this.