Ugly debate in Wilson case

Instead of dealing with the fact that Genarlow Wilson is serving a 10-year sentence for a crime that the Georgia law now classifies as a misdemeanor subject to only 12 months imprisonment, the Georgia legislature is caught up in ugly name calling about Wilson’s case.  Here’s are some of the details from this news article:

A war of words has erupted over the highly publicized case of a Douglas County teenager sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual sex with a minor. Georgia Senate President Pro Tempore Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) released a column Sunday about the case of Genarlow Wilson, the day after he figured prominently in a CNN piece about Wilson….

Johnson, in an interview Monday, said Wilson is “choosing martyrdom,” rather than take a plea deal.  Johnson dismissed [Wilson lawyer] Bernstein’s criticisms.  “She’s hired a publicist, got a Web site and is raising money,” Johnson said of Bernstein. “As long as she can use any — whether it’s the bill, or whether it’s a press conference or whether it’s an op-ed — to generate publicity and go on national TV, she will.  She is trying this case in the media because she lost it in court.”