Friday, November 09, 2007

More Good News For Genarlow Wilson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Genarlow Wilson, freed on October 26 by Georgia's Supreme Court after nearly three years in prison for oral sex with a 15-year old girl during a hotel party in 2003, has received an offer of financial aid from the Tom Joyner Foundation so that he can go to college.

Joyner announced during a show this week that he will provide Wilson with financial aid, and Wilson's lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, confirmed the offer Wednesday. The help will come through the Tom Joyner Foundation and will cover what's needed after Wilson seeks aid from other sources, Bernstein said. Wilson, 21, said when he was released that he hopes to pursue a degree in business or sociology.

Read the entire story here.

plez sez: this is good news... no, this is really GREAT NEWS!

i've seen Genarlow Wilson interviewed after his release; he is obviously a very bright young man and he has definitely learned a very hard lesson after having to spend 3 years in jail for his indiscretion.

i really wish him the best and i have no doubt that he will succeed with the love and support of his family and generous benefactors like Tom Joyner (click here to hear the Tom Joyner Morning Show).

6 comments:

Jay said...

That is very good news. That kid got railroaded big time by the "justice" system.

Real Live Lesbian said...

I'm so glad to hear that. I saw that interview and thought what a shame it was that he spent one day in jail.

I have a feeling that he'll take this opportunity and kick ass with his life.

plez... said...

Jay & RLL,

thanks for stopping by... and yeah, it is GREAT to finally hear some good news concerning this whole obscene affair... i happy for this young man.

Eddie G. Griffin said...

Plez, Thanks for reporting the good news. I would hope we can help repair the lives of our youth after they make a mistake and wound up in jail. Better yet, we should work harder to keep them out.

Francis Holland said...

This is excellent news and a great victory for the AfroSpear, the afrosphere and Black blogger advocacy, as well as so many other dedicated people. This is wonderful for Genarlow and his family, who never lost hope and kept reaching out for more resources.

I hope Genarlow will start a blog and share his experiences with us. We all have a lot to learn about what he's been through and what he can say about it in retrospect.

plez... said...

eddie,
i'm sure he has learned his lesson and i would hope that he could be an inspiration to others so that they don't fall into the same pitfalls that temporarily removed Genarlow from his family.

francis,
you bring up a very good point about Genarlow blogging about his experiences. i'm sure that he has a powerful perspective of our legal system and being the subject of a miscarriage of justice.

all the kids these days are on Facebook and MySpace, i'm sure he has a site on one of those that will give him access to his contemporaries. if not, maybe someone who knows him (and is reading this blog) will reach out to him and see if he will jump on the blogosphere to share his wisdom... that'd be awesome!