By Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson
Associate Editor

As we prepared to go to press last Wednesday, September 6, 2006, The People’s Voice had the pleasure and privilege of meeting the young woman pictured, Ms. Kim Denmark from Dayton, Ohio.  She is the woman walking across America, and has traveled 15 states on foot.   She left her home more than 70 months ago, determined to walk across the country.
 
She is pictured here with her sign and flag, which she bears as she walks.  Her goal of walking across America is to dramatize the need for change as it relates to welfare reform, homelessness and poverty.
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Due to limited space, we did not feel that we could do her story justice in last week’s issue of The Voice, therefore, she is featured in the current  issue of The People’s Voice.  She is now walking across Georgia, en route to Alabama.  She has an amazing testimony,  and when she shares her testimony, both her passion and conviction can be felt. 
 
Denmark tells a story of growing up poor, but determined to be successful.  She opened up her own “temp service” in Dayton, and it soon grew to 35 regular temps working in assembly, clerical, hotel, and other service industries. 
 
“I was a  negotiator;  my  talent was making and closing deals… I went wherever I had to go to close a deal….The Country Club, The Golf Course, you name it, I went there.”  Within a short span of seven years, Denmark had managed to grow her “temp service” to a work-force of 500.   But her success transformed her spirit into one of haughtiness and arrogance. 
 
“I was nasty.”  Kim recalls.  “I showed off the money I made buying expensive cars, extravagant clothing, and looking down on the less fortunate.   I would walk down the street with thousands of dollars in my pocket, and see the homeless on the street, and throw my change at them…. 
I would drive my Mercedes up to the church on Sunday.  I’d get there early, so that everybody could see me and say, ‘That’s Ms. Kim Denmark ― she’s got it goin’ on.’  I’d clutch my favorite leather-backed bible under my arms, and I’d walk up in the church, and didn’t know a thing about Jesus.”  
 
But, in the midst of all of her success and financial wealth, she became ill, and was forced to take to the bed for 30 days. As her condition worsened, Kim knew in her heart that she was going to die; so, praying for the Lord to take her, she gave up on living.  Kim recalls with amazing clarity, the night God healed her body, just as she sensed that she was about to slip into the throes of death. 
 
Kim declares that as she felt herself slipping away, God showed her a “spiritual movie”of her life, wherein clear images flashed before her of herself as a successful businesswoman holding a handful of green money in one hand, and with the other hand, throwing some change at a homeless man.  She could see herself “pretending” when she attended church, walking around with a Bible she never opened.   As she was being overtaken by what she describes as a thick dark fog, that was smothering her to death, and sensed the breath leaving her body, she wept until the light of the Holy Spirit came and intercepted the process.  This is when a voice told her “Get up and walk.”  Kim recalls that when she stood, an amazing, intense heat permeated her body, moving from “the bottom of my feet to the top of my head.”
 
“That is the night God healed me, and forgave me.  The next morning, I left my home in Ohio with a heavy snow on the ground, and nothing but the clothes I was wearing and a make-shift sign.”  The first few miles were the hardest.  Kim says she shared her story with everybody she met.   She said as she continued her walk that first day, she started to wonder what she would to do next.  “Lord, where will I eat?”  “Walk!” the voice told her.  “Lord where will I sleep?”  Again, the voice said “Walk!” 
 
That first day, Kim recalls walking until dark when she encountered a blond-headed woman who had seen her story on the local news, and was touched by her plight.  The woman had driven to find her and bought her some food and a hotel room for the night.   “My thighs were burning so hot, my feet were blistered; but, (Thank You Jesus),  I ate;  I rested;  I soaked my feet and legs in the hotel trash cans; and prepared for the next day’s journey.” 
 
She’s been walking ever since. To date Kim has walked over 70 months and approximately 2,300 miles. She has completed 15 states (OH, IN, PA, MD, VA, WV, IL, NJ, NY, NC, SC, DE), and currently she is walking in GA.  “I am committed to completing the entire United States of America.”

Her goals include encouraging mothers on welfare to get off and become self sufficient with resources available in their city and state.   And, moreover, she has a plan for achieving this goal.   Kim says, “Although much assistance is available already, I feel fewer obstacles should be a factor in permitting qualified candidates to make this transition less stressful.”
 
In visiting some cities, she receives support of the Mayor, Governor, churches, businesses, organizations and the general public.  Her main focus is to visit the homeless shelters, soup kitchens, Human Services Departments, and other points of interest where she can receive documentation and hear live testimonies from the public.
 
As Kim traveled through South Carolina, she met LaTonja Dewalt, who resigned a $60,000.00/a year job to join Kim on her journey.  LaTonja now serves as Kim’s Personal Assistant, Security,  and P.R. Person.  “In this case,” LaTonja says, “P.R. doesn’t mean Public Relations, but “Praise Representative.”  LaTonja drives for Kim, patrols the highways as Kim completes her walk, assists with paperwork, mans the petition, and receives telephone calls on Kim’s behalf.  

As a practical matter, Kim’s goal is to obtain 1 million signatures on a petition, and to appeal to the United States Congress to initiate focus on America’s poor relating to good jobs, decent wages and for families transitioning from the welfare roles, in which some become homeless.

Although Kim is not raising money, her food and shelter come strictly from donations.
 
Kim hopes that you will receive her message, as she comes into your city in peace and leaves with hope. She thanks you in advance, and hopes you enjoy the experience of meeting her as she travels through the United States for the poor.  If she comes through your city, she would welcome the opportunity to fellowship with churches, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, city administrators, or other groups and organizations.  And if any group or organization would care to sponsor a reception or fund-raiser to help her complete her walk, she would receive any gifts with gratitude.
 
And if you happen to see her walking along the nation’s highways, please do not hesitate to offer her a helping hand.
 
The People’s Voice has pledged to serve as Kim’s official newspaper, tracking and chronicling her progress as she makes the journey.  We will post a Kim’s weblink on our site, and pledge to keep in touch with her on her journey across America. 

______________________________________________________________________________
 
Contents Of Kim’s Petition
 
To: US Congress

By signing the petition, I am granting my personal support to Ms. Kim Denmark in her walk across America for welfare reform, homelessness, and poverty. I, too, am endorsing Ms. Denmark’s efforts in approaching the United State Senate as a spokesperson on behalf of myself, and on behalf of so many American’s suffering from the plague of poverty. As a citizen of the United States, I do content that changes should be made, and more focus should be given to promoting new jobs, quality education and opportunity for economics and social stability. And, by signing, I state that I have been neither forced nor coerced into supporting such a cause. Therefore, please accept my signature as proof that I, along with so many fellow Americans, support Ms. Denmark’s walk across the great United States.

Thank you, and may heaven forever smile upon the listeners and the lawmakers who can make changes possible.
 
____________________________________________________________________________
 

Things Kim Needs To Complete Her Walk

Kim needs support to help her complete her walk across America.  We have listed here some of the items on her wish list.  Some of the items are desperately needed, others are things she says would be nice to have on her journey.  She says that if you find it in your heart to help her in any way possible, please consider providing any of the items listed below.
 
Kim’s Wish List:
 
Advance Lodging at a decent facility
Laptop Computer
Digital Camera
Cell Phone
A Van (Nothing Elaborate Or Fancy) So she can transport her equipment
New Balance Athletic Shoes (Size 10)
100% Nylon Jogging Suit (Bright Orange)
     Orange Represents The Prison Population  (80% of the Prison Population are people of Color)
A New Sign

Even the Law Profession Recognizes
 there is a problem in Alabama’s Justice System
 

“A system that will take life must first give justice.”
Former ABA President, John J. Curtin, Jr.

Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson, Associate Editor
Washington, D.C.

The American Bar Association has recently released it’s final report entitled “Full Alabama Death Penalty Assessment Report,” stemming from a project initiated I 2001, called The Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project.   In this article, we will attempt to highlight some of the inadequacies identified in Alabama’s Capital Punishment system as a result of this report.

In 2001, The American Bar Association launched the moratorium implementation project as a “next step” in working to obtain a nationwide moratorium on executions. 

According to project Director, Deborah T. Fleischaker, “The initiative was created to encourage other bar associations to press for moratoriums in their jurisdictions and to encourage state government leaders to establish moratoriums and undertake detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes in their jurisdictions.”     

Their work has included the collection and analysis of data on domestic and international moratorium developments; working with interested ABA entities and state and local bars to address moratorium principles at those levels; and encouraging use of ABA “protocols” as means of assessing and publicizing the depth and breadth of states’ reviews of their death penalty systems.  They have also conducted analyses of governmental and judicial responses to death penalty administration issues raised in the ABA resolution; and issued reports on moratorium developments

The extensive report , spanning more than 260 pages is the result of the past five years of working on the Moratorium Implementation Project..  The report begins with an “Executive Summary,” which overviews and sets the tone for the report.  It provides the reader with an overview of the history of the project, and establishes the need for such a project  and in essence, takes a stand on the issue of the need for a Moratorium on Executions.
In it’s opening statement the report acknowledges that, “Fairness and accuracy together form the foundation of the American criminal justice system.  As our capital punishment system now stands, however, we fall short in protecting these bedrock principles.  Our system cannot claim to provide due process or protect the innocent unless it provides a fair and accurate system for every person who faces the death penalty….
 
…Over the past thirty years, the American Bar Association (ABA) has become increasingly concerned that there is a crisis in our country’s death penalty system and that capital jurisdictions too often provide neither fairness nor accuracy.”
 
            The report provides a detailed look at Alabama’s Death Penalty process from beginning to end, then it analyzes several areas thought to bear on the fairness of the system.

The areas of concern highlighted in the report include:  Collection, Preservation, and testing of DNA and other evidence, Law Enforcement Interrogations and Identifications, Crime Laboratories and Medical Examiners Offices, Prosecutorial Professionalism, Defense Services, Direct Appeal Process, State Post-Convictions Proceedings, Clemency, Capital Jury Instructions, Judicial Independence, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Mental Retardation and Mental Illness.

What follows are what we found to be some of the more interesting and startling aspects of the ABA Report.  Included here are just some excerpts extracted directly from the report, with their commentary on certain ambiguities and/or inconsistencies revealed in Alabama’s Death Penalty System.

Collection, Preservation, and testing of DNA and other Evidence:   One of the most startling revelations of the ABA report relates to the handling of DNA evidence.  Although the intricacies are far more than can be discussed in this one article, perhaps the most interesting was that in NO case was Alabama ever fully in compliance with recommended policies, practices and procedures when it came to collecting, preserving and testing DNA or other evidence used in sentencing an accused to death.

Law Enforcement Interrogations and Identifications:   “Eyewitness misidentification and false confessions are two of the leading causes of wrongful convictions.  In order to reduce the number of convictions of innocent persons and ensure the integrity of the criminal justice process, the rate of eyewitness misidentifications and of false confessions must be reduced.”   In this chapter of the report, Alabama’s laws, procedures, and practices related to law enforcement identifications and interrogations were reviewed and evaluated as to whether they comply with the ABA’s policies on law enforcement identifications and interrogations.  Alabama was commended on several measures related to law enforcement including:
 
(1) Law enforcement officers in Alabama are required to complete a basic training course that includes instruction on interviewing and questioning techniques;

(2) Courts have the discretion to admit expert testimony regarding the accuracy of eyewitness identifications; and

(3) Alabama courts allow a jury instruction that provides jurors with information about the shortcomings and trouble spots of the eyewitness identification process.

However, despite these commendations, it was also pointed out that the State of Alabama does not require law enforcement agencies to adopt procedures on identifications and interrogations nor does it appear than any Alabama law enforcement agencies videotape or audiotape the entirety of custodial interrogations.

In order to ensure that all law enforcement agencies conduct lineups and photospreads in a manner that maximizes their likely accuracy, the ABA recommends that Alabama  require all law enforcement agencies to adopt procedures on lineups and photospreads that are consistent with the ABA’s recommendations.  In addition, the State should mandate that law enforcement agencies record the entirety of custodial interrogations.

Crime Laboratories and Medical Examiners Offices:
A third area studied included Alabama’s laws, procedures, and practices on crime laboratories and medical examiner offices.   Based on information contained in this report, our nation’s courts are relying on forensic evidence and the questionable validity and reliability of tests performed at unaccredited crime laboratories.  So, the importance is clear, for crime labs to be accredited and medical examiners to be certified, and for the laboratories to be adequately funded.

It was interesting to note that Alabama does not require crime labs or medical examiner offices to be accredited.  However, nine of the ten crime laboratories in the Department of Forensic Sciences (Department) are accredited and are required by the accrediting body to adopt written standards and procedures on handling, preserving, and testing forensic evidence.  Neither the accrediting body nor Alabama statutory law, however, require Department crime laboratories to publish these standards and procedures, nor must they be made public before becoming effective. 

Therefore, nobody outside the department truly knows the standards and procedures.

The State of Alabama does require the Department’s Chief Medical Examiner to be a pathologist certified in forensic pathology and other Department medical examiners to be forensic pathologists who graduated from accredited medical schools and completed up to five years of additional training in pathology and one year in forensic pathology, BUT The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner does not currently employ any standard operating procedures to maintain reliability and consistency in its work among its four offices.  Additionally, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner does not provide standardized training for new and existing state medical examiners to ensure the validity and reliability of medical examiners’ death investigations.   
 
This becomes problematic when one looks at the fact the evidence that comes out of criminal laboratories, if heavily relied upon to sentence an accused to death.

Prosecutorial Professionalism:   According to the ABA report, “The prosecutor plays a critical role in the criminal justice system.  The character, quality, and efficiency of the whole system is shaped in great measure by the manner in which the prosecutor exercises his/her broad discretionary powers, especially in capital cases, where prosecutors have enormous discretion deciding whether or not to seek the death penalty.”  In this Chapter, we examined Alabama’s laws, procedures, and practices relevant to prosecutorial professionalism and assessed whether they comply with the ABA’s policies on prosecutorial professionalism.   While the State of Alabama was praised for having taken certain  measures to promote the fair, efficient, and effective enforcement of criminal law,  the ABA review showed that the State was never totally in compliance with recommended policies, practices and procedures related to the conduct of District Attorneys.  

Defense Services:  “The State of Alabama’s indigent defense system is a “very fragmented, mixed, and uneven system that lacks level oversight and standards … and does not provide uniform, quality representation to the majority of indigent defendants in the state.”  The State’s failure to adopt a statewide public defender office, a series of local public defenders, or to implement close oversight of indigent legal services at the circuit level has resulted in the State being incapable of delivering quality counsel in all capital cases.”

Direct Appeal Process:  In this chapter of the report, Alabama’s  appeal process was studied in terms of how closely the State complied with the ABA’s policies.   This was an important area to look at because one of the purposes of the appeal review is to make sure that death sentences are not imposed arbitrarily, or based on improper biases, such as sex, race, or religion, etc.  To be meaningful, the review of the appeal process would allow one to compare the process in which an imposed sentence of death is compared with sentences imposed on similarly situated defendants to ensure that the sentences are not unevenly applied.   When it came to the appeal process, in no instance was Alabama in compliance  with recommended practices, policies and procedures.   “The Alabama Code requires that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals determine whether the defendant’s sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate by comparing the “penalty imposed in similar cases considering both the crime and the defendant.” In practice, however, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has not followed this statutory requirement in several respects.  First, it has not considered cases where death was not imposed.  Second, it has often issued decisions with cursory and conclusive claims of proportionality, without reference to any other cases.  And finally, it has repeatedly failed to account for the defendants, focusing exclusively on general attributes of the crimes alone.” 

State Post-Convictions Proceedings:   According to the ABA report, many Capital defendants receive inadequate counsel at trial and on appeal.  Therefore, Alabama post-conviction proceedings often provide the first real opportunity to establish meritorious constitutional claims.    In the majority of instances, the state did not maintain adequate information to conduct a thorough study of this area.  Despite insufficient data, it was determined that Alabama has laws that 

Clemency:  “The Alabama Constitution gives the Governor the exclusive authority to grant reprieves and commutations to people under sentence of death.  The process an inmate follows in applying for clemency and the process the Governor follows in considering a clemency application is largely undefined and each Governor may conduct the process and s/he wishes.  A hearing is not guaranteed and the Governor is not required to consider any specific facts, evidence, or circumstances, or perform any specific procedures when making his/her decision regarding a clemency petition.

Given the ambiguities and lack of structure surrounding Alabama’s clemency process, the State of Alabama should adopt more explicit factors to guide the consideration of clemency petitions and should open the hearing and decision making process to ensure transparency.”

Capital Jury Instructions:  Numerous problems were found in the area of Jury Instruction; some of these included: 

“…Jurors in Alabama appear to be having difficulty understanding their roles and responsibilities, as described by the judge in his/her charge to the jury….”  

“…Alabama capital jurors not only are confused about the scope of mitigation evidence that they may consider, but also about the applicable burden of proof and the unanimity of finding required for mitigating factors”

 “…Capital jurors in Alabama also have had difficulty understanding the requirements associated with finding the existence of statutory aggravating factors….”

“A full 40% of capital jurors interviewed in Alabama do not understand that they must find that one or more statutory aggravating circumstances exist beyond a reasonable doubt.  In addition, capital jurors fail to understand the effect of finding that the defendant’s conduct was “heinous, vile or depraved” or that the defendant would be dangerous in the future.  Although a sentence of death is not required upon a finding of one or more aggravating circumstances, 56.3% of interviewed Alabama capital jurors believed that they were required to sentence the defendant to death if they found the defendant’s conduct to be “heinous, vile, or depraved” beyond a reasonable doubt.  Similarly, 52.1% of interviewed Alabama capital jurors believed that if they found the defendant to be a future danger to society, they were required by law to sentence him/her to death, despite the fact that future dangerousness is not a statutory aggravating circumstance and that non-statutory aggravating circumstances are not allowed.”
 
Judicial Independence:  The area of Judicial Independence is related to the “politics” that often plays into the judicial process.   “With increasing frequency, judicial elections, appointments, and confirmations are being influenced by consideration of judicial nominees’ or candidates’ purported views of the death penalty or of judges’ decisions in capital cases.  In addition, judge’s decisions in individual cases sometimes are or appear to be improperly influenced by electoral pressures.  This erosion of judicial independence increases the possibility that judges will be selected, elevated, and retained in office by a process that ignores the larger interests of justice and fairness, and instead focuses narrowly on the issue of capital punishment, undermining society’s confidence that individuals in court are guaranteed a fair hearing.” 

Racial and Ethnic Minorities:  “Whatever the cause, Alabama’s death penalty system reflects serious racial disparities. Specifically, twenty-eight out of the thirty-four people—over 82%—who have been executed in Alabama since 1976 were convicted of killing white people, despite the fact that over sixty-five percent of all murders each year in Alabama involve black victims.   Eighty percent of Alabama’s current death row prisoners were convicted of murdering white people.  Thus, it appears that those convicted of killing white victims are far more likely to receive a death sentence than those convicted of killing non-white victims.
Although the State of Alabama agreed to examine the impact of racial discrimination in its criminal justice system, specifically in sentencing, there is no indication that it has done so, nor has it taken steps to develop new strategies to eliminate the role of race in capital sentencing.  Furthermore, the State of Alabama does not currently collect and maintain the data necessary to fully evaluate the impact of race in capital sentencing.”

Mental Retardation and Mental Illness:   “In Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), the United States Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional to execute offenders with mental retardation.  This holding, however, does not guarantee that individuals with mental retardation will not be executed, as each state has the authority to make its own rules for determining whether a capital defendant is mentally retarded.”  

In the State Of Alabama, there are three factors that bear on this issue. 

(1)  Alabama’s criminal system is uncertain as to whether an IQ score in the low or mid-70s disqualifies a defendant or death row inmate from being found to have mental retardation. Thus, in deciding this issue, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has been inconsistent in its application of the definition of mental retardation than the Alabama Supreme Court.

(2)  Alabama has no policies in place to make sure that persons who may have mental retardation are represented by attorneys who understand and appreciate their client’s mental limitations.  Instead, capital defendants who may be mentally retarded are assigned (or not assigned) counsel under the same rules and fee structure as every other capital defendant.

(3)  Alabama has no laws that set forth the procedures to determine if a person is mentally retarded in terms of criminal law.  There is no procedure that determines at what point in trial this will be determined, or how it will be determined.
Although the report does not specifically say so, after reading this extensive and exhaustive report, one could reasonably conclude that The State Of Alabama is extremely weak in it’s application of policies and procedures that safeguard the fairness of its judiciary.  

“Despite the best efforts of a multitude of principled and thoughtful actors who play roles in the criminal justice system in the State of Alabama, our research establishes that at this point in time, the State cannot ensure that fairness and accuracy are the hallmark of every case in which the death penalty is sought or imposed.  Because of that, the members of the Alabama Death Penalty Assessment Team, except Arthur Green who dissents, join with over 450 other organizations, religious institutions, newspapers, and city/town/county councils and call on the State of Alabama to impose a temporary moratorium on executions until such time as the State is able to appropriately address the problem areas identified throughout this Report, and in particular the Executive Summary.”

Could This Happen To Your Child?  Your Brother?  Your Friend?

Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson, Associate Editor
 
Genarlow Wilson sits in prison despite being a good son, a good athlete and high school student with a 3.2 GPA.  He never had any criminal trouble.  A recent article that appeared in Atlanta Magazine described Genarlow  as a “football player and track star, homecoming king and honor-roll student.”   On the day he was to sit for the SAT, at seventeen years old, his life changed forever.  He was arrested.  
 
The story has now been retold many times, in print media including newspapers and Atlanta Magazine.  It was again re-told just this past Thursday (March 9) on Good Morning America and PrimeTime Live.   In short, After a New Year’s party, that has been described as “wild,” Genarlow was one of six Douglasville teens charged with Child Molestation under a legal technicality.   According to Genarlow’s attorney, B.J. Bernstein about 14 teenagers had attended the party.   Chandra R. Thomas (Atlanta Magazine) reported that initially, the parents “hired attorneys, and all of the boys vehemently maintained their innocence.   But, none of them or their families had the faintest notion that their actions that New Year’s Eve night would haunt them for the rest of their lives. At first the young men—dubbed “the Douglasville Six” by local media—stood united.

But as the reality of the charges stacked against them began to sink in, the pressure began to mount.”   One by one, the boys began to buckle, and signed documents accepting pleas to lesser charges in exchange for lighter prison terms.  But, Genarlow was the one boy who refused to take a plea.  

In Douglas County, he was accused of inappropriate sexual acts at the now infamous party.   The trial, began on February 21, 2005 and lasted until February 25, 2005 when the jury acquitted him of the allegation of Rape, but convicted him of Aggravated Child Molestation for a voluntary act of oral sex with another teenager.  He was 17 and she was 15.  At the time of the conviction, Wilson’s mother Juanessa Bennett called the sentence grossly unfair. “The punishment is too harsh. The law says it’s okay for a 17-year old girl to be with a 50 year old man. But if you’re 15 and with someone who is 17 it’s a tougher penalty.”  The media has dubbed this case “a tragedy for everyone involved.”
 
Along with the label “child molester” which would require him throughout his life to be on a sexual offender registry, Genarlow received a sentence of eleven years – a mandatory 10 years in prison and one year on probation.
 
While there is widespread condemnation of sex between adult predators and young children, it is less clear how to deal with statutory rape involving teenagers.
 
Under Georgia law, the penalty is actually more severe for a person found guilty of engaging in oral sex with a minor than for having intercourse (which is classified as misdemeanor statutory rape), even if the perpetrator is just a few years older than the minor.   Consequently two teens can have intercourse and it is a misdemeanor, but if they engage in oral sex, it is a felony which mandates a minimum of 10 years in prison.  If two teens engaged in heavy petting, that could be a felony Child Molestation.
 
The intricacies of the Georgia law made national news nearly two years ago when aggravated child molestation charges almost sent 18-year-old Marcus Dixon from Rome, Georgia, to prison for a decade. Dixon, a former Pepperell High School football star, who is black, was accused of raping a white classmate who was three months away from her 16th birthday. When that case broke, even the author of the statute, state Representative Tyrone Brooks, argued that the law was intended to protect children from adult sexual predators, not to police teenage sex.

According to Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, most of the six young men charged in the Douglasville case had been in trouble with the law before, including one now facing similar charges nearly two years after this case.
ABC Chief Legal Correspondent Chris Cuomo interviewed Genarlow in prison. Genarlow’s case was featured on Good Morning America on ABC this past Thursday morning and an indepth interview of him Thursday night at 10:00pm on ABC PrimeTIme Live.

The January 2006 issue of Atlanta Magazine provides a full account of the grave injustice and problem with Georgia law.
 
What is Being Done to Release Genarlow Wilson?
Genarlow Wilson is appealing his case to the Georgia Court of Appeals.  The case has been scheduled for oral argument before the court on March 9, 2006.  Genarlow’s attorney, B.J. Bernstein, The Bernstein Firm, Atlanta, Georgia is pointing out the legal flaws with this case.  On Thursday, Bernstein commented:  “Today, I will be arguing his case before the Georgia Court of Appeals.  The main argument is that his conviction violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.  That clause means that similarly situated people and circumstances should be treated equally.  As it stands now, teens that engage in voluntarily are in sexual activity are arbitrarily treated differently.  If teens engage in intercourse, it is only a misdemeanor with no more than 12 month sentence on no requirement to register as a sexual offender.  If they engage in oral sex, then the law sentences a felony of Aggravated Child Molestation and requires signing for a lifetime as a registered sexual offender.  That is a clear-cut example of unfair and unjust treatment without a rational basis particularly since intercourse could lead to another teenage pregnancy out of wedlock.”

What can you do?
 
1.  Let District Attorney David McDade and other politicians of the state of Georgia know your outrage with the unjust incarceration of Genarlow Wilson.  The law needs to be changed and his conviction undone. 

2.  The Bernstein Law firm has set up a website at http://www.wilsonappeal.com/
you can go to this site, and sign an online petition demanding his freedom, and that he not have to register as a sex offender.
 
3.  Donate to the Wilson Defense Fund:  All monies collected will go to legal expenses, and when released, an education fund for Genarlow.
 
“We will have to wait for the decision from the court.  In the meantime, we are fighting to have the Georgia legislature enact a “Romeo and Juliet” law which will across the board make sure any teenage consensual act will be no more than a misdemeanor and not stigmatize a young life with the label and sexual offender registry.

Genarlow Wilson sits in prison as the debate rages on.  No prior criminal offenses, just a young man who made a mistake a lot of young people do. Even the CDC’s (Center For Disease Control) statistics bears out the high number of teens engaging in sexual activity.  Prison is not the place to correct that trend,” said Bernstein

Photos:  Courtesy of Attorney B.J. Bernstein
 
Additional information is available from
B.J. Bernstein:
The Bernstein Firm, P.C.
621 North Avenue, NE
Building E
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Phone:  404-522-1200
Fax 404-810-9092
  
 Copyright 2005 by Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson
This article was composed and written by Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson, and appeared in the March 11, 2006 edition of The People’s Voice African American Weekly News (http://www.peoplesvoiceonline.com/).   This article may be reprinted with permission from the author:
Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson
email:  caclarkfrieson@msn.com
322 Wilkie Clark Drive
Roanoke, Alabama 36274
334-863-4885
334-338-1149