Wilson to Attend Morehouse College

ATLANTA (AP) -- Genarlow Wilson, whose case sparked protests after he was imprisoned for having consensual sex with a fellow teen, will attend Morehouse College with the help of the Tom Joyner Foundation, the organization's namesake has announced."He starts real soon," Tom Joyner said on Thursday. "He's going to be a Morehouse Man."After Wilson, then 17, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on felony charges for having sex with an underaged girl at a New Year's Eve party in Douglas County, his case became a cause celebre highlighting disparities in the criminal justice system.The Georgia Supreme Court freed him on Oct. 26, after he had spent nearly three years in prison, calling his sentence "cruel and unusual punishment."Joyner, a syndicated urban radio host, said Wilson deserves a second chance."I asked him, 'Now that you're out, what are you going to do?"' said Joyner. "He said, 'I'd like to try to get my education.' So I said, 'Well, let me help you out, see if I can't get you into one of my beloved historically black colleges."'Joyner's foundation has raised millions to help students attend black colleges across the country. He said the scholarship will pay for Wilson's tuition and room and board.Sterling Hudson, Morehouse's dean of admissions and records, said Wilson will enter during the spring semester, which begins next week. He said Wilson initiated the process."When we were notified about his interest, we put him into our usual admissions process," Hudson said. "It was reported back to me unanimously that everybody was impressed with Genarlow's maturity, his focus and what they believed to be his genuine desire to be part of the Morehouse experience."Hudson said school officials were concerned at how much time Wilson had spent away from the classroom while he was incarcerated. He said the new student will live in a residence hall with older students, and will "be taking baby steps on the academic side."Wilson, who was a star football player while in high school, is interested in playing at Morehouse as well, Hudson said. That won't happen during his first semester, but may come about later, Hudson said."We've impressed on him that academics are first at Morehouse," Hudson said.