Genarlow Wilson: search for justice continues
By Sen. Emanuel Jones

April 6, 2007

With no more than seven legislative days remaining in the 2007 session of the Georgia General Assembly, I am extremely disappointed that Senate Bill 37, which I introduced to correct a miscarriage of justice in the case of Genarlow Wilson, was not brought up for a vote in the Senate before the deadline for legislation to cross over to the House of Representatives.

The case, which continues to generate national media attention, is one of tragedy for Genarlow Wilson, who is serving an unjust 10-year prison sentence for the offense of having consensual sex at age 17 with a 15-year-old female classmate. But it is also one of shame for the state of Georgia, where a case like this would now be a misdemeanor, thanks to a change in state law we made last year.

However, because the prosecution of Genarlow, an outstanding student and athlete at the time, occurred prior to that new law, he and other young people in the same situation have fallen through the cracks. He has already served nearly three years in prison, more than paying his debt to society.

SB 37 was meant to remedy this problem and give the judge an opportunity to reduce Genarlow’s sentence, but it too fell through the cracks during this legislative session.

The fight for justice must go on, however, and I am working with my legislative colleagues to attach the provisions of SB 37 to related legislation that is still moving this session. For the sake not only of Genarlow and others like him, but for upholding the ideal of justice in the state of Georgia, we must keep working and ultimately succeed.

When the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday, April 10, we will be considering key legislation adopted earlier in the session by the House of Representatives.

One such bill is HB 94, the Supplemental Budget, which would increase the spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2007 by $700 million. The Senate version of the supplemental budget will likely be significantly different from the plan adopted by the House, which includes large amounts of “pork barrel” spending that is not of an emergency nature and can be considered for the annual budget for fiscal year 2008, which begins July 1.

Bipartisan leaders in the Senate are on record as supporting additional appropriations for critical needs, such as public school funding to meet the demands of growing enrollment, tornado disaster relief in the Americus area, and meeting shortfalls in the PeachCare for Kids and indigent defense programs.

Another significant piece of legislation is HB 340, which would reduce the number of families that could get health insurance for their children by lowering the eligibility level to 200 percent over the FPL (Federal Poverty Level) from the current level of 235 percent. 

Also, this bill would allow the Department of Community Health to reduce the rate to 185 percent over FPL if it so desires.  HB 340 would also require families to pay a premium for dental and vision care when the existing program provides it for free.

The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute estimates that 3,000 to 5,000 children will lose their eligibility for PeachCare if HB 340 becomes law.

The Senate will also consider HB 332, awaiting consideration in the Senate Education and Youth Committee.  The bill would delay the reduction of class sizes in Georgia for an additional two years.  Under the Education Reform Act of 2000, all school systems were required to lower class sizes, especially in core subjects such as English, Math, Social Studies, and Foreign Language. 

Since taking office, the Perdue Administration has delayed implementation of class size reductions four times in five years.

Other bills from the House that will be addressed in Senate committees include:

HB 2—now in the Senate State and Local Government Operations Committee; and would require a municipality, with an independent school system, to first receive consent from the county governing authority before annexing any land from said county.  If the consent is refused, then both parties would seek arbitration as requested by the municipality.

HB 131—now in the Senate Higher Education Committee; and would expand the HERO scholarship by providing $2000 a year, for up to four years, to spouses wanting to attend college.  

• Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) represents the 10th District (DeKalb and Henry counties) in the Georgia State Senate. Contact him at 327-A Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-0502 or by e-mail at emanj@mindspring.com.