This Makes Me Sick And Sad

[Dinger]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=wilson

Online petition for an appeal:
http://wilsonappeal.com/index.php

[xultar]

1. I want to know if the girl involved was white. They don't usually care if a black girl

does it to a black boy but if a white girl does it to a black boy then they call out all the old lawas and big guns.

[maveric]

7. She was white. ESPN and 20-20 did a piece on this two years ago.

The girl was white and her Dad has powerful political friends. This is racism in the 1st degree!

[twylatharp]

19. I can't believe this kind of stuff is still happening.

and in this political environment there has been no incentive for the pockets of racism to change.

[newyawker99]

33. Hi twylatharp!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[bigwillq]

37. Hello!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[barb162]

46. If there hadn't been film of this, I wonder if anything would have

come of it.

[girl gone mad]

29. I think you may be..

confusing this story with another one.

[justiceischeap]

2. I have to wonder

If it were a white guy receiving a blow-job if the consequences would have been the same.

[xultar]

3. Answer: Fuck. No.

[Azathoth]

32. Depends. If his last name was Clinton, he'd be in trouble... n/t

[barb162]

47. Depends if he was rich or not

[villager]

4. prosecuted by an asshole with a flag lapel pin on his coat

wonder what that flag is supposed to stand for, exactly, given this obscene miscarriage of justice?

[Sequoia]

5. The script and page are the same color. Must be my computer.

[Warpy]

6. She had to be white

This is sickening. It really needs to be overturned.

That being said, the whole experience may have prevented him from turning into a monster like so many sports stars become when they get drunk on money and fame.

He needs a pardon. He needs to get out of prison.

Why the HELL he wasn't sent to Juvie is beyond me.

She just HAD to be white.

[spoony]

8. I don't think she was white.

www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=158

"The Douglasville Six case, McDade insists, in no way detracts from his long-standing track record. McDade says that critics are merely playing the proverbial race card. “I think there is an attempt to shy away from a focus on the specifics of this case by some who would like to use any case to create racial disharmony in this community,” he says. “I think the members of the black community should stand up and say, ‘We don’t condone the behavior of these young men.’” Had he not pursued charges against the boys, his critics could have just as easily chastised him for failing to protect the rights of the two black females. “I’m standing up for African-American victims in this case, as I would for any white victim,” says McDade, an alum of Douglas County High, where he played baseball. “Calling me a racist denigrates the people who are victims in this case.”


also
http://dsadevil.blogspot.com/2006/12/where-race-comes-in.html

[The Doctor.]

22. Ummm... you have it exactly backwards.

The prosecutor is talking about 'the proverbial race card' and creating 'racial disharmony'...

That's damage control language.

She was almost certainly white.

[spoony]

25. Yet another link showing she was black

www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/wilson0111

"After the party, one of the girls -- both of whom are black, as is Wilson and the five other teens who, along with him, would be dubbed “The Douglasville Six” -- told her mother of her escapades. Police were notified, and they immediately went to the hotel and questioned the boys."

Where is your info that she is white?

[The Doctor.]

34. No, my point was that the prosecutor used language

that suggested the opposite of what you posed.

Was she black?

I don't know.

Look up-post, someone there said she was white.

[spoony]

35. I didn't "pose" anything

I quoted an article. It is what it is. This young man is being railroaded, and it is probably racial, but not in the way people in this thread have assumed.

[Raydawg1234]

43. "She was almost certainly white." - from your previous post.

[The Doctor.]

45. Based on the language, it certainly appears that way.

If you have anything definitive I'll certainly review it.

Otherwise, what is your point?

[buff2]

9. This is OUTRAGEOUS!

I signed the petition. I hope everyone in DU signs it.I feel sorry for that poor guy. This whole ordeal is so unfair. I hope the petition helps him for a speedy release.

[The Straight Story]

10. K&R'd (nt)

[AbbyR]

11. How awful...

and how many kids would be in jail if this were universally enforced? Is the girl in juvie? This is just sick. The kid made a mistake. He shouldn't have his life taken away because of it. Sometimes I wish I were a dog instead of a human being - I just don't like people much any more.

[Lord Byron]

12. Although I think he's a victim of racism and an overzealous prosecutor...

I think that there is something seriously wrong in our sexist culture where kids encourage girls to drink and then use them sexually when she's not necessarily in a sound state of mind. Videotaping it is even more repulsive. Women have become mere toys. That's wrong. It's a social problem.

[spoony]

13. That's a good point

On one hand American culture is so reactionary about sex, but on the other women are so objectified and debased. It's a stunning mess.

[DemExpat]

15. Yes, it makes it all more complicated there, I agree,

but the punishment for this contrived crime makes me simply speechless.

DemEx

[saracat]

14. I signed.How tragic and sick.

[nam78_two]

16. K&R...yes lets crack down on "criminals" like this kid

While every criminal in the effing Bush administrations than enables the kind of abuse that occurred at Abu Ghraib remains free :eyes:

We have an effed up society...

[blonndee]

17. What a sad story.

The punishment certainly doesn't fit the crime. 10 YEARS!?!

[burythehatchet]

18. I remember this case

I hate Georgia

[wellst0nev0ter]

31. Me Too

spent a year there (Athens, thereabouts)

To make a long story short, worst year of my life.

[jgraz]

20. Unfortunately, his case is not unique

A few years ago, a friend of mine was the public defender on a similar case in Modesto, CA. This instance involved sex between an 18-year-old lesbian and her 17-year-old girlfriend. Normally, something like this would be a misdemeanor (bad enough), but since the sex was not traditional intercourse, the girl was charged with felony sodomy of a minor.

She ended up avoiding jail time, but this young woman now has to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

[jgraz]

23. Although I've never heard of this law applied to two good-looking white heterosexuals

[WindRavenX]

36. jesus fuck, are you serious?

She's a REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER??? :wtf:

[jgraz]

41. Forever and ever

Unless she somehow gets a pardon one day...don't hold your breath.

[WindRavenX]

42. that's a crime against humanity

And I am dead serious.

[Nutmegger]

38. That's totally disgusting.

And I don't mean the sex.

[Pastiche423]

21. Un-fucking-real!

No where in the article does it state that the 15 year old white girl (I wonder how close to 16 she was) was forced to the party. Moreover, it is claimed that she was the aggressor.

Then there is this:

"We can set aside his sentence," Barker says. "Legally, it's still possible for us to set aside his sentence and give him a new sentence to a lesser charge. But it's up to us. He has no control over it."

I signed the petition and was happy to read that... by providing your email address we will update you on significant events affecting Gernarlow's freedom.

[spoony]

26. Also, nowhere does it say she's a "white girl"

Because she's black.

[Pastiche423]

27. See post #7

[spoony]

28. Which has no links,

mine do. See above.

[Marie26]

48. No one wants to hear it.

It's interesting how people keep assuming & insisting that the girl was white, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. The sentence in this case was way out of proportion to the alleged crime. But I also wonder if the prosecutor settled for the lesser charge of statutory rape in lieu of rape charges that would be difficult to prove. This passage from the story is unsettling:

"The next morning, the girl awoke in a stupor, wearing nothing but her socks. She called her mother and said she had been raped. Police came to the room after sunrise and took the revelers in for questioning. Genarlow had already gone home -- he didn't want to miss curfew -- but the video camera remained."

[girl gone mad]

49. It is interesting.

When my husband saw the promo on CNN, he also assumed the girl must be white.

I agree that the sentence was excessive, but I have a hard time conjuring symmpathy for this young man. Our culture's lack of respect for young women is disgusting.

[progressoid]

24. Jesus - can some one remind me what century are we in?

[Hawkowl]

30. Clemency

The Governor should give him clemency or preferably a full pardon. Unfortunately the south is still controlled by rascists and I doubt the Governor will have the courage to do what is right.

[WindRavenX]

39. this has been mentioned several times...

...and I 100% agree. These laws are borderline cruel and unusual punishment.

fuck, are we in the stone ages??

[Nutmegger]

40. I don't think Sonny Perdue would go for that.

He should though as it is an outrage.

[blonndee]

50. I saw a story on this that mentioned clemency/pardon

I can't remember what channel, but it was yesterday and they were saying that the governor CAN'T pardon this until the sentence is carried out! I can't figure out for the life of me WTF a pardon would be good for if the sentence has to be served first! Maybe it's a 10-year thing, which is his original sentence. Does anybody know?

They said the only chance he has is if they make a law specifically addressing this situation.

[Dinger]

44. I See CNN Is Doing A Story On This Tonight

Don't have a link yet, but they just said something on CNN.