Court Frees Man Imprisoned for Consensual Oral Sex
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a ten-year prison sentence for consensual oral sex between a 17-year-old and 15-year-old constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. The 4-3 decision reversed Genarlow Wilson's conviction for aggravated child molestation following a party where he was videotaped having oral sex with the 15-year-old girl. Wilson has already served 2 years.
The Georgia law that resulted in Wilson's conviction was reclassified subsequent to his conviction as a misdemeanor; the state Supreme Court had held the 2006 law could not be applied retroactively and his felony conviction would stand.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in Danford v. Minnesota on October 31, which considers whether state Supreme Court decisions must use the U.S. Supreme Court’s standard in applying criminal law decisions retroactively or instead may expand retroactive application of those decisions to a broader class of criminal defendants