18 Jun 2007
Ten Years In Jail: For Receiving a Blow Job

Sexual repression, racism and fundamentalist Christianity makes for an uncomfortable mix. But this is the daily diet for many people living in America's Deep South.

A judge in the state of Georgia this week ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson, a young man who had already served two years of a ten year sentence. His crime? Having consensual sex, at the age of 17, with a 15 year old girl.

To make matters worse, the couple didn't have "normal" penetrative sex (which would have "only" merited a one-year sentence). What enraged prosecutors was that the girl gave Wilson a blow job, which at the time was classed as a more serious offence under Georgian law. They threw the book at him and sent him down for the full ten years.

Wilson remains in prison, despite the court order, because Georgia's Attorney General Thurbert Baker refused to accept the authority of the court to overturn the mandatory sentence.

This event is one of many pointed out by American anti-racism campaigners where prosecutors use loopholes in the law to serve the maximum sentences against black people for minor offences. Another case was recently exposed in a BBC TV documentary, where Louisiana prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty against six black teenagers, after a playground fight left a white teenager with minor bruising.

An online petition has been created where supporters can register their outrage at the harsh sentance Wilson has recieved. Please visit Wilson Appeal for more information on his case.