4-5-2007 Georgia:
SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into an apparent death threat against state Sen. Eric Johnson and his family.
A Feb. 20 e-mail hurled profanities at Mr. Johnson for his opposition to a bill intended to free a man convicted of aggravated child molestation.
"The seekers of justice" added the missive, signed only with the initials D.A.R, "will be watching you and your family (as you leave church, work, school etc.) - you can't hide and when you least expect it all you have come to know and love will vanish in a flash of blinding justice."
Mr. Johnson, a Savannah Republican and the Senate president pro tem, has a wife, daughter and son.
Other than to say he has taken "appropriate precautions," Mr. Johnson declined to comment.
He is the highest-profile opponent of SB 37, written by Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur. Although it might apply to other cases, the bill targets Genarlow Wilson, who is serving 10 years for aggravated child molestation.
Mr. Wilson, then 17, had oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a 2003 New Year's Eve party in Douglas County. Though he didn't use force, the law then in effect regarded the girl as unable to consent to sex acts.
Since then, however, the law has been changed to make consensual sex acts between teenagers a misdemeanor.
Mr. Jones' bill would let judges reconsider consensual teen sex cases tried before the law was changed.
There's sharp debate over whether the evidence warranted Mr. Wilson's conviction and sentence. He and the victim are black, and some have cast the issue in racial terms, as did the e-mail to Mr. Johnson.
"Black people all across this country," it said, "will be praying that you and all your loved ones meet a fate that quickly send you all to burn in the fiery pits of hell for your opposition to freeing Mr. Wilson.
"You pretrend (sic) as if your position is rooted in some perverted respect for the law but the hidden racist attitude you harbor comes through no matter how much you try and deny it."
Mr. Johnson is the leading Republican supporter of a proposal that the state express regret for slavery.
He has acknowledged that the law now allows flexibility in cases of consensual teen sex. But he said he sees no grounds to apply it retroactively to Mr. Wilson.
At the same party, Mr. Johnson said, Mr. Wilson and five others engaged in intercourse with a second girl, then 17, "even after she was passed out drunk and high."
"I don't believe the Legislature anticipated permitting leniency with a 6-on-1 situation as occurred here," he said. "This was not two star-crossed lovers on a date."
GBI spokesman John Bankhead said his agency has not yet identified the sender.
But, Mr. Bankhead added, "we know about where it (the e-mail) came from, and we have contacted police in that jurisdiction."
He said whatever agents learn will be turned over to a prosecutor, who will determine whether the circumstances meet the definition of a "terroristic threat."
If they do, Mr. Bankhead said, the sender could face prosecution on a felony charge punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000 or both. ..more.. by Larry Peterson
No comments:
Post a Comment