CNN’s Bill Mears talks about an unusual Supreme Court case in his article titled ‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ case limits student rights:

The Supreme Court ruled against a former high school student Monday in the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” banner case — a split decision that limits students’ free speech rights.

Joseph Frederick was 18 when he unveiled the 14-foot paper sign on a public sidewalk outside his Juneau, Alaska, high school in 2002.
Principal Deborah Morse confiscated it and suspended Frederick. He sued, taking his case all the way to the nation’s highest court.
The justices ruled 6-3 that Frederick’s free speech rights were not violated by his suspension over what the majority’s written opinion called a “sophomoric” banner.

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When America’s Kids Play We All Seriously Lose

Ron Sims II

Joseph Frederick probably thought that is was pretty funny to place a
banner that read “Bong Hits for Jesus” in front of his school. While
he may have had a good laugh when his friends saw it, few are laughing
at the consequences of displaying it. His high school principal
suspended him for promoting drug use and he, in turn, sued the school
for trampling on his first amendment rights. The case went all the way
to the Supreme Court where he lost. The decision has just set a
precedent for limiting Americans’ right to say anything that might be
deemed illicit.

Some might try to paint Frederick’s case as one of a student assenting
his rights to protest an unjust law, but the bottom line is his prank
backfired in a major way. To be fair, Frederick is not totally at
fault for thinking it was perfectly harmless to make the banner in the
first place. American society no longer cultivates responsible
behavior; individualism has reached the brink of anarchy. An unspoken
tenet of today’s youth is “do what you like,” and “conformity in
anyway is unacceptable.”

Joseph Frederick is a perfect example of the tendency of today’s kids
to act out of context. He exemplifies the blindness that afflicts a
good percentage of his generation; they do not see the bigger
picture, or the consequences of what on the surface seemed like a
harmless prank. The moral whirlpool of misplaced irresponsibility is
rapidly dissipating; perhaps, American has finally realized that this
type of thinking is drowning our greatest assets.

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A judge is expected to rule this week in the case of Genarlow Wilson, the jailed Georgia man. Many legal experts and concerned citizens alike consider the case an outrageous injustice. If you agree, sign the Free Genarlow Wilson petition

A group of Douglasville, Georgia teens rented two hotel rooms for a New Year’s Eve party on December 31, 2003. The party attendees consisted of teenage boys and girls, including Genarlow Wilson, an honor student boasting a 3.2GPA and a standout football player being courted by Ivy League schools.

The morning after the party, a seventeen year old female complained to her mother that she thought she had been raped. The police were contacted and went to the Days Inn Hotel to search the party scene.

According to the legal document posted on wilsonappeal.com, the police found a video camera and a tape of several of the teens having sex with the 17 year old and receiving oral sex from a 15 year old at the party scene. After viewing the tape, the police arrested six young men, including Wilson, for rape of the 17 year old and aggravated child molestation of the 15 year old

The Douglasville Six, as they were dubbed, initially found strength in each other. Their parents hired attorneys, and all of the accused held strong and maintained their innocence. As pressure mounted however, the will to stand trial gave way for some when they signed agreements in order to reduce their sentences. With their admissions came the eternal tag of child molester, as they will forever be on the list of sexual predators.

Genarlow, being the only teen with no prior run-ins with the law, held fast to his innocence. Wright Thompson reported on ESPN’s website that “there was no ill will, no malice, no intent to commit a crime. After all, Michelle [the 15 year old] had arrived at the party tipsy; she’d been drinking Hennessy cognac that afternoon even before the party began. She voluntarily continued to drink and smoke with them.”

Thompson writes that “she had packed a bag, obviously with the intention of spending the night. She had also reportedly flirted relentlessly with the guys, including her old high school track buddy Genarlow. And more importantly, even Michelle’s own girlfriend, Natasha*, who’d also been at the party, told investigators that she had never heard Michelle say “no” to the guys”.

Genarlow Wilson was indicted by a Douglas County Grand Jury on August 20, 2004, and charged with rape and aggravated child molestation. After a five day jury trial, the jury acquitted him of the rape charge but convicted him of aggravated child molestation. The trial court sentenced Wilson on April 18, 2005 to eleven years with the mandatory minimum of ten years in prison without parole followed by one year on probation.

Wilson was a high school senior and age 17 at the time of his alleged criminal offense. He received a ten year prison sentence because at age 17 he engaged in a voluntary act of oral sex with the 15 year old female classmate. Again, no violence or assault was asserted or raised in any of the police reports or at trial as to the 15 year old. Wilson’s conviction for aggravated child molestation was based solely on the fact that the female was 15, which is below Georgia’s legal age of consent. However, the sex act in lay terms was “consensual” – that is, agreed to by both teens.

Due to the requirements of the statute, Genarlow Wilson received the sentence of ten years to be served in prison without parole and the requirement that he has to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life. If Wilson had had intercourse with this same girl, he would be out of prison now because he could only receive a sentence of 12 months and would not have to register as a sexual offender.

We’re not talking about a young man engaged in illegal drug trafficking or armed robbery. This was a popular high school teenager who engaged in activities not so different than kids all across America. Activities not so different than the “hippy” generation that our country is so proud of today but gawked at in the 1960’s and early 1970’s.

This is not an endorsement for the use of marijuana (which the boys were said to be smoking) or underage drinking. There should always be consequences for poor decisions and breeches of the law, yet, this punishment is beyond excessive. Genarlow is losing valuable time while lawmakers fail to use reason and logic to see that liberty stands tall for this young man.

The leaders we rely on in this democracy have not done what is in the best interest of the Wilson family nor have they provided justice to the family of the young women. Because he has resisted what some critics call cohersion to plea guilty, income potential, post secondary education opportunities and critical social interactions are all at risk for Genarlow. At the ripe age of 21, Genarlow Wilson still sits in a jail cell like a hardened criminal clinging on to the hope of freedom and of course, his innocence.

Resources
Wright Thompson’s “Outrageous Injustice”
Wikipedia: Genarlow Wilson
WilsonAppeal.com
BlackAmericaWeb