Paris Hilton, vs Genarlow Wilson: Where is the Outrage?

Where is the outrage when Genarlow Wilson sits languishing in Prison even after the judge has vacated his conviction, and the GA Attorney General refuses to follow the judge’s order? On June 12th 2007, a Georgia judge ruled in favor of Genarlow Wilson, a 17 year old black male sentenced to 10 years in prison for receiving oral sex from a consenting 17 year old white female, who in fact admits she initiated the act.

There has been some coverage here and there in the media, but on the whole it has been a footnote. While all the media rants and raves about Paris Hilton, this is a real case of miscarriage of justice, and yet, the outrage just isn’t there, nor is the media coverage. One thing I cannot even begin to fathom is why no one media house has even bothered to juxtapose this story or perhaps the case of Pedro Guzman illegally deported by the same LA County sheriff's Department, with the so-called unfair treatment of Paris Hilton. Would this sort of legal wrangling go on in a case involving white kids, and if it did, would it go on without ample media coverage and outrage to boot, as in the case of the Duke Lacrosse rape case?

Why has tmz.com become the all round expert in everything from mental health to the constitution with regard to Paris Hilton. Why can’t any of the media houses go out there and get some real stories about other people in the LA county jail system in similar situations as Paris Hilton, of which I am sure there are many and compare whether indeed she is being treated unfairly. No instead, they just sit at their desks and check out tmz.com, and haul in Harvey Levin for interviews, on talk show after talk show, news bulletin after news bulletin. Are there no researchers at these stations? Are there no mental health, legal or corrections experts available to MSNBC, CNN et al? Why has no news bulletin even bothered to take the opportunity presented by this whole debacle to make any real news about the general miscarriage of justice that goes on all the time? I don’t think that the public - and I may be overestimating the American public, not being a native - but, I honestly can’t really believe or even begin to imagine that the US public is as interested in Paris Hilton as the media is. I put the blame squarely on the media for this non-news. Quite frankly, I feel quite confident that if the media houses covered real news, people would still tune in and the US public might even get to be really informed.

The judge’s ruling should have meant the immediate release of Wilson from prison. But that was not to be. The GA attorney general appealed the ruling, which means that Wilson will have to remain in jail while this case is brought to court. It is claimed that the AG, is not at fault and his appeal is not racially motivated, but rather he is opposed to what he says was the judge overstepping his jurisdiction! This case is as appalling as it is mindlessly unjust. Why use this unfortunate and unjust case to take on the abuse of power of judges, while continuing to punish an innocent young man, who did what billions of teenagers across the globe do every day and even worse! Why, when even the AG agrees that this case is unjust. What is the message here? Is it not quite frankly that Genarlow Wilson, as a young black man is quite inconsequential, and anyone coming along with anything to prove or any bone to pick can use him and his unfortunate situation with no fear of any sort of consequences? And where does this overzealousness on the part of Georgia law enforcement come from. Is it not quite simply racially motivated? What if Wilson was not the honors student that he was? Would this story even have ever made the news? How many young black males languish for years in the US jail system for mindless acts of miscarriage of justice such as this? MSNBC, Lockup is an interesting look at the prison system, but how about some real true investigative journalism on something that is not a mere easy sell?

Ms Hilton Checks Out...

Apparently, miss Hilton did not like prison too much, so she decided to leave!! This apparently against the judge's specific orders who made it clear that Paris Hilton's sentencing order would not be modified according to the Sheriff's request.Lil Kim, you dumb blonde, did you know this was an option, why didn't you exercise it? Mike Tyson, what of you, what kind of dumb lawyers did you have? Even I failed to heed, and clearly forgot my own bet that Hilton would not do her time. I was too quick to congratulate her on her "grace under fire!", for in fact, Miss Hilton had one up her sleeve that none of us saw coming! I just wanna know, as I stated in my first blog on this subject, how much exactly in campaign "donations" to mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's re-election coffers have been made by the Hiltons, or is it the "campaign coffers" of the sherrif? I'm I just too cynical? Could it just be that La Hilton suffered serious illness? Is not being able to stand jail not a legitimate illness for the rich and famous?

Ms Hilton checks in

I never thought I would say this, but you have to give it to la Hilton. She went about her "checking in" to her own Paris Hilton hospitality suite with style - I mean, who goes to the MTV movie awards and then straight to jail? She put on a brave face, strutted her stuff on the red carpet, checked in with her own take on prison style and furthermore, she will be making money writing a journal!! She is far smarter than we credit her for and even if she can't spell "SIHN", she will certainly be signing and banking the checks. Way to go Paris?! If la Hilton had to do time, does this mean that the rich and famous are now having to face the music, and does it mean that Scooter Libby should be shaking in his boots? I somehow doubt it, his smug look at his trials and sentencing suggest that he knows something we don't

Scooter Libby Sentenced to 30 Mths Jail Term

I will eat my head if Scooter Libby spends as much as a day of his jail term! Despite the 30 month sentence and 250,000 fine, I am sure that Libby will get away with bail pending his appeal, which will lead to a lengthy process taking him into the end of 2008 and a pardon by the outgoing chief perjurer.

I can't help wondering if the somewhat stiff sentence isn't somehow supposed to elicit sympathy from the public and hence justify a pardon, or at least make the idea of it seem reasonable.

I don't know the judge in the case, or his political affiliations, but I do know that many of his appointments were issued by GOP presidents from Reagan through to George W. as well as by right leaning judges. I put nothing past this white house whose Machiavellian tactics, I believe, know no boundaries. Some pundits claim that a pardon is a sensitive issue which the public does not like too much and that is only ever used in very special circumstances. My question is, "since when did W. give a monkey's a** about what the public thinks?" There is way too much support from the right to ensure that Libby does not serve any time. With Fred Thompson about to join the race, I am sure he will make the Libby case a campaign trail issue keeping it in the limelight only adding to the pressure on W. to pardon the man.

While pundits think that the sentence is somewhat stiff, perjury is a serious offense, and depending on the specifics of the case, often leads to jail terms. In the U.K. two prominent former senior members of the Conservative government served about two years each for perjury in cases that did not even involve the obstruction of justice. The first, a peer in the house of Lords, Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years for lying in his libel case seeking damages over a story published in several magazines about him and a prostitute. The second, Jonathan Aitken, a former cabinet Minister and likely future Prime Minister was sentenced to serve time for lying about a hotel stay paid for him by a wealthy Saudi business associate.

Can you imagine if such crimes were punishable with jail terms here in the states, Capitol Hill would be emptied of congressmen and senators! Libby's crime is particularly serious given the issues of national interest involved and due to the fact that his crime led to the failure to investigate a matter of national security. Further, it was a case that stemmed from an act that demonstrated the White House's complete and total disregard for the intelligence community and the very institutions that serve this country, in the administration's leaking of Valerie Plame's CIA credentials.