FREE GENARLOW WILSON: $ 1 Million Can't Buy Freedom

Businessman, Whitney Tilson, founder and Managing Partner of T2 Partners LLC and the Tilson Mutual Funds, convinced 9 of his friends to join him in a contribution towards a $1,000,000 bond for the release of Genarlow Wilson. He was successful in his fundraising endeavor but Genarlow Wilson still remains behind bars.

Make no mistake that some Georgians applaud AG Thurbert Baker's handling of this situation while others criticize his staunch effort to keep Genarlow Wilson incarcerated. Baker has been accused of not exercising the same zeal in other situations. Whether that is true or not is beyond me as I did not know of Baker until the Genarlow Wilson case.

With that in mind, the focus on the bond issue should rest squarely with Douglas County DA David McDade, not AG Thurbert Baker. McDade can easily put this situation to rest but he chooses to offer B.J. Bernstein, Wilson's attorney, little consolation to compromise. It is in the State of Georgia's best interest to keep AG Baker in the spotlight to diffuse charges of racism. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what's going on and it won't diminish the cries of racism either.

It's also important to note that Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue supports Baker's position. Perdue may prefer to watch from the sidelines but the media and Georgia voters should make sure that he does not avoid public scrutiny and/or outrage either.

Maybe it's just me but I still think that this entire situation could have been avoided early on in the case. In spite of the antiquated Georgia law under which Genarlow was convicted, judicial and law enforcement officials could have tried to salvage this young man's collegiate academic and athletic career potential. The mother of the victim has already proclaimed the sentence too harsh --- talk about overkill. Baker, McDade and Perdue also could have avoided another black eye against the State of Georgia; you'd think Georgia law enforcement would have learned after the Marcus Dixon case but I guess old habits die hard.