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The Georgia Supreme Court was asked Monday to consider its ruling that freed Genarlow Wilson last year when deciding a challenge to a life sentence imposed on a sex offender.

The request was unusual in that it was made by both the prosecutor who wants the life sentence upheld as well as the public defender who contends the sentence is cruel and unusual punishment.

At issue is a mandatory life sentence imposed in December on Cedric Bradshaw in Bulloch County for failing to register as a sex offender for the second time.

After his release from custody a year ago, Bradshaw twice moved in with relatives, registering their Statesboro addresses. But both times authorities ordered him to leave because the homes were too close to where children congregate.

Bradshaw then gave an address for a family friend but didn't move into that man's trailer within the 72 hours required by law. Convicted a second time of giving an improper address on the sex offender registry, Bradshaw was given a mandatory life term.

During Monday's arguments, public defender Robert L. Persse called Bradshaw's sentence "grossly disproportionate to the offense committed."

Persse asked the justices to look to their decision in the Genarlow Wilson case. In October, the justices ruled Wilson's 10-year prison sentence was unconstitutional. Wilson was given the sentence in Douglas County for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.

If the state Supreme Court follows the same reasoning it used in overturning that sentence, it should throw out Bradshaw's life sentence as well, Persse said.

There is no evidence Bradshaw committed a crime of violence or sexual deviancy, only that he failed to move in before the deadline, Persse said. If Bradshaw had been convicted of armed robbery, he would not face a mandatory life term, Persse said. He added no other state in the nation calls for a life sentence for a second conviction of failure to register.

But Assistant District Attorney W. Scott Brannen told the justices that the Wilson decision was handed down after the Legislature changed the law. Lawmakers lessened the sentence for such a crime from a 10-year prison sentence to no more than one year in custody.

Brannen argued that in this case the legislative intent was to increase prison time for a second offense. In 2006, the prosecutor noted, lawmakers increased the sentence for failing to register for the second time from three years in prison to life.

The Legislature's action reflected the will of the community and should be given great deference, Brannen said. "The intent of the Legislature was to protect children from sex offenders."

But Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears asked whether legislative intent should always carry the day. "What if the Legislature had said of this crime, 'We give the death penalty'?" she asked.

Brannen noted that while a life sentence may seem harsh for failing to register as a sex offender for a second time, lawmakers did blunt the potential severity of the sentence. Under the law, repeat offenders serving life terms are eligible to be released on parole after serving just seven years in prison, the prosecutor said.

But three justices were not swayed by that argument. The Board of Pardons and Paroles has the final say when someone may be granted parole and guidelines are subject to change, they said.

"Can you tell me right now how long he will serve?" Justice Harris Hines asked. "That is out of our hands."

Justice Carol Hunstein also expressed concern the law makes no distinctions between "fixated pedophiles and teenagers" convicted of sex offenses. The court is expected to issue its decision in the coming months.