At the age of seventeen, Genarlow Wilson had it all: he was an honor student, homecoming king, and football star being recruited by several major college football programs. A typical teenager, though, he also smoked pot regularly and spent as much time partying as he did studying. He wasn’t a saint or a model citizen; he also, though, wasn’t a child molester or a pedophile - but that’s exactly what Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker would have you believe.

In 2005, Wilson, now 21, was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having consensual oral sex with a 15 year-old girl during a 2003 New Year’s Eve party outside Atlanta. He was also charged with raping a 17 year-old girl at the same party - based on the argument of prosecutors who insisted that she was too intoxicated to consent. Jurors, however, acquitted him on that charge.

Under Georgia state law in effect at the time, Wilson received a mandatory 10-year sentence for the act - which was considered a felony. Partly as a result of his conviction, though, state legislators changed the law to make such consensual conduct between teenagers a misdemeanor. That change wasn’t made retroactive, though, so it did not affect Wilson.

Where’s the miscarriage of justice, you may ask? Well, the law requiring a 10-year mandatory prison sentence was originally designed to deter child molesters and pedophiles from preying on innocent children - do you really think a seventeen year-old having fun at a New Year’s Eve party fits that bill?

To make matters worse, last year the Georgia Supreme Court turned down Wilson’s appeal, and Baker has steadfastly blocked attempts by Wilson’s attorneys to have him released. Also, legislation that would make the change in Georgia’s child molestation law retroactive - effectively freeing Wilson - failed to win approval earlier this year.

However, in a refreshing display that common sense still exists in the world, yesterday Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson ruled that Genarlow Wilson’s punishment was cruel and unusual and voided it on constitutional grounds. The judge reduced the sentence to one year and said that Wilson should not be put on Georgia’s sex offender registry, as the old law required.

Knowing that the ruling would free him from prison, Wilson’s family, friends, and legal team began celebrating his impending release - but their celebration was decidedly short-lived: shortly after Judge Wilson’s ruling was handed down, Baker announced that he would appeal the decision - a move that keeps Wilson behind bars for the foreseeable future.

In a statement announcing his decision, Baker said that he filed the appeal to resolve “clearly erroneous legal issues,” charging that the judge did not have the authority “to reduce or modify the judgment of the trial court.”

Adding insult to injury, Baker said that prosecutors had offered Wilson a plea deal that would reduce his sentence to time already served and place him in a program for first-time offenders. Once his sentence was complete, his conviction would be removed from his record, and he would be taken off the sex-offender registry.

Recognizing the okey-doke, B.J. Bernstein, Wilson’s attorney, said she advised him not to accept the proposed deal because it would still require him to plead guilty to a felony with a 15-year sentence, which would hang over him until the sentence had been served. Bernstein said she is now trying to get him released on bond while Baker’s appeal makes its way through the courts…so far, they have not been successful.

Wilson’s plight has drawn national attention and pleas for his release, including from former President Jimmy Carter, a former Georgia governor, and even some of the jurors who convicted him. You, too, can help bring the travesty of justice being done to him to a close: click the image below to lend your support to the Genarlow Wilson Online Petition. By registering your name, you add to the official protest of the Georgia General Assembly’s refusal to act more quickly to right the continued wrong destroying yet another young Black life. Also, click here to learn more about how you can donate to the Genarlow Wilson Defense Fund. No matter how small or large, every bit helps…after all, imagine if he were your brother, nephew, uncle - or even you…

1948 - 2007

Celebrated North Carolina treasure Larry Leon Hamlin succumbed to a lengthy illness on Wednesday. Despite the many accomplishments of his life, many people are unaware of just who Larry is - much less the impact of his life’s work - so learn more about him below.

With the goal of uniting Black theatre troupes all across the country, in 1989 Larry founded the National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF). Witnessing the slow decline of the art form, he wanted to ensure the survival of the genre into the next millennium. By all accounts, his efforts paid off: over 10,000 people attended, and, featuring 30 performances by 17 of America’s best professional Black theatre companies, the NBTF attracted national and international media coverage. According to The New York Times, “The 1989 National Black Theatre Festival was one of the most historic and culturally significant events in the history of black theatre and American theatre in general.”

Held every two years, the NBTF now attracts more than 60,000 people during six days of great perfomances, instructional workshops, a poetry slam, and festive parties. Managed by the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, also founded by Larry, the event has been credited for single-handedly rejuvenating the Winston-Salem economy and solidifying the city’s stauts as a cultural landmark of the state.

Despite Larry’s passing - and perhaps in honor of it - the show will go on. The next NBTF will be held in Winston-Salem from July 30th – August 4th, so get your tickets now and don’t miss one of the best times you never knew you could have.

Click here to learn more about the NBTF.