Will the Georgia legislature help Genarlow Wilson get justice?
According to this new article, there is some possible legislative action afoot in Genarlow Wilson case from Georgia (sad details here). Here are the highlights:
State Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, [has] introduced legislation that he said he hopes would allow a judge to re-sentence Wilson under the more lenient sentencing provision.
Since the state Supreme Court issued its Dec. 15 ruling, the case has become a bit of a cause célèbre, with The New York Times publishing an editorial calling for Wilson’s release and the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution saying Wilson deserves “justice,” not “condolences.” Thursday morning, ESPN.com’s top story was an in-depth report on the legal case of the former high school football player, headlined “Outrageous Injustice.”
“I read the editorials, I again went back and reviewed the comments from Justice Hunstein, and I said I would make it my … work this session to get him out of prison,” said Jones. He added that he has bipartisan support, and one of his co-sponsors is Sen. Dan Weber, R-Dunwoody…. Senate Judiciary Committee Vice Chairman Seth Harp, R-Midland, said Thursday that he wanted to study the bill and its ramifications before determining his position on it.
Though I am encouraged some Georgia legislators are looking for solutions, I continue to be deeply troubled and mystified that there isn’t more pressure being placed on executive branch officials to do justice for Genarlow Wilson. Recall this passage from the ESPN article:
“We can set aside his sentence,” [prosecutor Eddie] 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.” The position of Barker and the district attorney, McDade, who refused to comment, is that Wilson is guilty under the law and there is no room for mercy, though the facts seem to say they simply chose not to give it to Wilson.
What I find depressing (and what confirms the impact of race and class) is the contrast we see in reaction to this case and the Duke lacrosse case. In the Duke case, as detailed here, prosecutor Michael Nifong may be disbarred for purported “systematic abuse of prosecutorial discretion” simply because of the way he filed charges. In the Wilson case, in sad contrast, no one is even seriously questioning the prosecutors about their refusal to exercise their discretion to achieve justice.
UPDATE: A few commentors have already reacted strongly to my suggestion that distinct reactions to prosecutorial behavior shows the impact of race and class.
Please understand that I am not arguing that that the actions of Nifong and Barker/McDade are legally, morally or ethically parallel in any way. Rather, I am simply trying to note that when a NC prosecutor over-zealously prosecutes rich white kids, his decisions are question by the whole world; but when GA prosecutors continue to over-zealously prosecute a less-affluent black kid, far fewer questions are asked. My chief point is that, as Mike Connelly explains here, we ought to be much more willing to question the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in all cases (like Republican legislators are now doing in the border shooting case.)