GENARLOW WILSON FREE

Genarlow Wilson Set Free

On Friday afternoon, just hours after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that his sentence amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, Genarlow Wilson was released from prison. In 2005, Genarlow Wilson, a 17-year-old star athlete and top student, was convicted of aggravated child molestation for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old classmate. The NAACP has been involved in the Wilson case since 2003, when the youth was initially charged with rape, working with both the Georgia legislature and the judicial system to free Genarlow. He had been incarcerated for almost three years of a ten-year sentence, even though only months after his conviction, a "Romeo and Juliet" law was passed that would have had a maximum allowable sentence of 12 months. Genarlow remained incarcerated until Friday in spite of June decision by a Monroe County Superior Court judge to void the original sentence on constitutional grounds and reduce it to one year. Cases like Genarlow Wilson, Marcus Dixon, and the Jena 6 highlight the rampant discrimination against African-American youth that exists in our criminal justice system. The NAACP is committed to doing whatever is necessary to see justice served in these cases and the hundreds of others, as well as working to reform the judicial system so that our youth are afforded the dignity, respect and equal treatment they deserve under the law.

From Dennis Hayes
Interim President & CEO NAACP

Loan Forgiveness for Public Interest Attorneys

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Martin Lee Anderson

Video of the actual assault.

Martin Lee Anderson Criminal Trial Results in Acquittal

All white jury in Panama City jury acquits defendants in Martin Lee Anderson case.

Photo Above: Anderson's mother, Gina Jones, center, and her lawyer, Benjamin Crump, are seen Friday after the verdict. "You kill a dog, you go to jail. You kill a little black boy and nothing happens." Crump told reporters. Crump is a Florida State University College of Law alumnus and former BLSA member.

The next step is to bring a civil case for violation of Martin Lee Anderson's Civil Rights against the defendants in this case. Stay tuned for updated information.

Background of this case:

In the summer of 2005, 14 year old Martin Lee Anderson was arrested and put on probation. Martin and 5 others were taking a joyride in his grandmothers Jeep, his sister got the key and one of the friends drove. They had an accident. The grandmother was informed she would have to press charges in order for her insurance company to pay for the damages.
Martin was later charged with violating the terms of his probation, for trespassing on school grounds.

Gina Jones and Robert Anderson, Martin's parents, were given the choice between a detention center hours away, or the local boot camp, just minutes from her home in Panama City FL. They chose the boot camp to be closer to their son.

On January 5, 2006, Martin entered the Bay County boot camp. He, along with a group of boys were directed to the training field for a physical assessment test. This included completing as many push-ups and sit-ups as possible within a 2 minute period, followed by a 1.5 mile run. Martin did 48 sit-ups and 18 push-ups without a problem and began his 16 lap run. Somewhere around the 10th lap, Martin fell to his knees. At this time Martin is pinned against the fence by two drill instructors, for "counseling" as they often referred to their force tactics.

At some point, Martin complains he is having trouble breathing. The DI's force an ammonia capsule on him, they report Martin tensed up some so they brought him down. He is then ordered to return to the run. Not long afterwards, Martin collapses again. A number of guards surround and begin the assault. This included pressure points between the ear and jaw, hammer strikes, kneeing the thigh, arm bar take-downs, holding by the arms, restraint, etc. Four more times the drill instructors decide to force Martin to inhale ammonia capsules. Each usage lasted for extended periods of time, and the last for 4 minutes.

At some point during the administering of the final ammonia caplet, Martin becomes unresponsive. Upon flopping the young man face first onto the ground, one of the drill sergeants notices sand in Martin's eye, and no attempt by Martin to remove it. The instructors realize something is wrong with Martin and EMS is called. He is taken to Bay Medical Center, and later flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola Fl. Martin never regained consciousness and died around 14 hours after the incident.

Excerpt from www.martinleeanderson.com .

Please see my other posting for the actual vidoe of the assault.

Death in our SRBLSA Family

Together with Georgia State University College of Law, SRBLSA mourns the death of 1L Paul Brady. On October 2, 2007, Paul was hit by a small truck while crossing the street at the intersection of Decatur and Piedmont near Georgia State University in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Paul passed away on Monday October 8, after a short stay at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Please make sure to lift up the Brady family in your prayers. For more information, see http://getwellpaul.blogspot.com/

Jena Six Protest in Jena, Louisiana