Putting money where the sentencing injustice is

As detailed in articles appearing in USA Today and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a “New York investment manager and 10 of his friends have pledged $1 million in cash to try to win the release of a Georgia man imprisoned for a consensual sex act.”  Here are more details from the USA Today article:

Genarlow Wilson, 21, is serving a 10-year sentence for receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.  He has been behind bars for more than 28 months.  Two weeks ago, a Monroe County judge ordered his release.  Because Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker appealed, however, Wilson remains in prison.

“A miscarriage of justice has occurred here, yet he’s still in jail,” says Whitney Tilson, a mutual and hedge fund manager who will commit $100,000 of his own money to a bond fund for Wilson.  Tilson, who is founder and managing partner of T2 Partners Management LP and Tilson Mutual Funds, read about Wilson’s case in December and thought his punishment was excessive.

Related posts will background on the Genarlow Wilson case:

• Genarlow Wilson prevails in state habeas appeal
• Snippets from the Wilson ruling from Georgia
• Georgia AG appeals to keep Genarlow Wilson locked up
• Genarlow Wilson faces at least another month in prison
• ESPN effectively covers Genarlow Wilson’s sad saga
• Why isn’t the severe Georgia sentence constitutionally problematic?