Genarlow Wilson is free. From the GA Supreme Court's decision:
Because the minimum punishment for the crime for which Wilson was
convicted constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, this case must be remanded
to the habeas court for it to enter an order reversing Wilson's conviction and
sentence and discharging him from custody.*
There's a lot of not-so-swift logic in that decision, I'm afraid; I think both majority and dissent are grasping at straws to embellish their positions, to some degree (I know, "welcome to the world of litigation").
And so, we now have something else to sing at stretch time for the World Series game this weekend (After God Bless (Middle) America, and in place of Take Me Out to the Ballgame):
I got rid of the shackles that bound me
and the guards that would always surround me
There were tears on the mail
Mama sent me in jail
But I'm free from the chain gang now.
Back home, I was known and respected,
Then one day, I was falsely suspected.
So they threw me in chains
In a cold, freezing rain
But I'm free from the chain gang now.
All the years I was known as a number
How I kept my mind is a wonder
In a cold concrete cell
That was one step from hell
But I'm free from the chain gang now.
I pray that the gossip will spare me
when I return to the one I will marry.
Like a bird in a tree
I got my liberty
Oh, I'm free from the chain gang now.
Drinks are on me tonight, y'all.
*It's also interesting to note that Adobe reader stores footnote text along with body text, including the former along with any body text selected for copy/paste. |
