The Georgia Supreme Court Sides With Genarlow Wilson

David Weigel | October 26, 2007

Four months after a judge threw out his sentence and Georgia's attorney general appealed that decision, Genarlow Wilson has been freed.

The Supreme Court of Georgia ordered Friday that Genarlow Wilson be released from prison, ruling that his sentence for a teen sex conviction was cruel and unusual punishment.

The decision was split 4-3.

A refresher on Wilson's "crime":

Wilson had been convicted of molestation for engaging in consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a New Year's Eve party. He was 17 at the time. Wilson was convicted under a Georgia statute (since revised) that, strangely, would have resulted in only a misdemeanor charge had Wilson and the girl engaged in vaginal sex.

More reason on the case.