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U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young has nominated Creators columnist and former member of the Georgia House of Representatives Matthew Towery for the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.  Towery and Georgia Senator Emanuel Jones were nominated for their efforts in securing the release of 21-year-old Genarlow Wilson from jail in late October. Wilson was sentenced in 2005 to ten years in prison for having consensual sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

Towery was the original author of the Child Protection Act under which Wilson was sentenced, but he was extremely vocal in his opposition to the young man’s sentence. Towery has maintained that the intent of the law was to punish child predators, not teens having consensual sex. Following the efforts of Towery, Jones and others,  the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Genarlow's sentence was “cruel and unusual punishment” and ordered his release in late October of 2007.

The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award®, created in 1989, is the nation's most prestigious honor for elected public servants. President Kennedy's family wished to honor President John F. Kennedy and to recognize and celebrate the quality of political courage that he admired most.

Administered by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundcation, the award is presented each May.

Please see the links below to Matt Towery's columns in defense of Genarlow Wilson:

For more information on the Profile in Courage Award, please visit the John F. Kennedy library website.

Bad Legislation: A Real Nightmare (released March 1, 2007)

Inside the Genarlow Wilson Case (released June 18, 2007)

Vick, Bonds, Wilson -- When Race Matters, And When It Doesn't (released July 26, 2007)

Wrapping Up Old Business: Genarlow and Gingrich (released November 1, 2007)