Wilson offered deal to get out of jail sooner 10-year term would be halved By STEVE VISSER, JEREMY REDMON The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 06/28/07 Genarlow Wilson, the Douglas County man imprisoned for receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl when he was 17, would be able to get out of prison sooner and avoid having to register as a sex offender under a plea deal a prosecutor offered his attorney this week. Douglas County District Attorney David McDade spelled out the deal in a letter he sent Monday to one of Wilson's attorneys, Rodney Zell. In the letter, McDade offers to let Wilson plead to a felony "that reflects his criminal actions with the victim in this case." McDade, however, does not identify possible charges. But he says Wilson could plead guilty to an offense that does not require sex offender registration, which has been one of the main sticking points in the case. Wilson's attorneys have said he fears being on the registry would hurt his chances of getting into college and starting a career. McDade also offers to let Wilson serve only five years of a 15-year sentence, with credit for time served. Wilson has already served more than two years of his 10-year prison sentence for aggravated child molestation. McDade said his office would not attempt to prevent parole for Wilson and that he could be treated as a "first offender" after his release from prison. McDade also reminds Zell in his letter that Wilson refused a plea deal at his sentencing in 2005. "Even after Mr. Wilson's trial at his sentencing on April 18, 2005, we made an unprecedented offer, again, to resolve the case via a guilty plea to lesser charges and a lesser, parolable sentence," McDade wrote. "Unfortunately again, Mr. Wilson declined." Wilson's case has drawn national media attention and a flood of criticism from civil rights activists who say racism is at play, though all the defendants and victims in the case are black. On Thursday, McDade blamed Wilson's main lawyer, B.J. Bernstein, with blocking what he said were reasonable and long-standing plea offers. "She is interested in publicizing the case for her own personal gain," McDade said. "She has lost sight about what is best for her client." The case stems from a drug and alcohol-fueled New Year's Eve party Wilson attended in at a Douglasville hotel in 2003. Wilson was charged with raping a 17-year-old girl at the party, but was acquitted. He was ultimately found guilty of aggravated child molestation for receiving oral sex from the 15-year-old girl, a crime that carried a minimum 10-year prison sentence at the time. One of Wilson's friends videotaped the sex acts at the party and that film became key evidence in the case. McDade says in his letter that his office has offered "leniency" to Wilson since his sentencing but that Wilson's lead attorney, B.J. Bernstein, has "insisted that Mr. Wilson be treated more favorably than his co-defendants." Four other male youths at the party pleaded guilty to child molestation of the 15-year-old and sexual battery of a 17-year-old. A fifth pleaded guilty to false imprisonment. Wilson was the only one to go to trial. All of them got prison sentences. "This is simply unfair and it will not be agreed to by this office," McDade said about Bernstein's position. Bernstein is meeting with Wilson in prison today and could not immediately reached for comment. But she addressed McDade's letter during a news conference at her Midtown law office Wednesday. She pointed out that the letter does not identify a specific offense that Wilson could plead guilty to. She also pointed out that the offer does not immediately free him from prison or let him avoid a felony conviction. "He has to decide. I can't tell him what to do. It is a source of constant discussion," Bernstein told reporters Wednesday about the possibility of a plea deal. "There has been all this discussion about 'Well, he should just be desperate and take whatever the government gives you, whatever David McDade wants to give you, he should take.' It is our right in the system to say, 'Wait a minute. That is not right. That is not just. It is not fair. And I want to fight it.'" During an interview at his prison in Forsyth this month, Wilson talked about why he hasn't accepted any plea deals, saying he fears being on the state's sex offender registry . "I don't feel like I'm a sexual predator or I am a pedophile in any type of way," Wilson said. McDade said Bernstein has been assured that no registration would be required. At the time of Wilson's conviction, defendants who received first-offender status did not have to register as a sex offender. Legislators have since required first offenders to register. This month, a Monroe County Superior Court judge threw out Wilson's prison sentence and reduced his conviction to a misdemeanor, calling his case a "grave miscarriage of justice." In making his ruling, the judge granted an appeal from Wilson's attorneys, who argued his prison sentence is cruel and unusual punishment under the Constitution. Attorney General Thurbert Baker has appealed the Monroe County judge's decision to the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing the judge overstepped his authority. Baker filed a request for an expedited review by the court, but the court rejected his request last week. The soonest the case could come before the court now is October. It could take until April of next year to be decided. A Douglas County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that Wilson is not eligible for bond pending the appeal. "If Mr. Wilson continues to refuse a negotiated solution to this matter," McDade wrote in his letter this week, "he will sit in prison until next year at a minimum while the Supreme Court takes the case on its October 2007 calendar."
