Is justice really being served?
Less than two years ago Generlow Wilson, a black high school scholar who maintained a 3.2 GPA, was sentenced to a 10-year prison term for a “crime” mandated by the Georgia law.
Wilson received oral sex from a fellow high school student who was only two years younger then him.
Wilson, also a prospective college football recruit, was convicted of aggravated child molestation and is now in the 23rd month of his sentence.
Around the same time a female high school teacher was convicted of the same crime – having sex with a student.
However, in the same courthouse where Wilson was sentenced to 10 years, this white teacher was only sentenced to 90 days in prison.
The law was set by the state of Georgia to penalize adult child molesters.
But does the standard of the punishment change because of racial or social class?
Today, the NAACP is in an effort to make a request to the governor and the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee chair to review the law and modify Wilson’s sentence.
In short, racism still exists.
In the new book “Why Are So Many Black Men In Prison?” author Demico Boothe said out of the 10.4 million black men in America, 1.5 million are in prison, and another 3.5 million are on probation or parole. Boothe also said black men make up nearly 75 percent of the total prison population.
This explains the shortage of black men at Florida A&M and other universities.
Wilson’s case is only one of the few that have been brought to the attention of the public and sadly exposes the system for what it is today – lost.
Stephanie Haughton for the Editorial Board.