Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Marcus Dixon - facts...
Feel free to scroll down to weigh in on which celebrity breakup shattered your faith in love.
I figured at some point I'd feel compelled to weigh in on the Marcus Dixon case. Dixon, for those not in the know, is one of the bigger local interest stories here in GA, and it's gotten a fair amount of national play. More or less, the facts are as follows: Dixon is 18, a star athlete and scholar in Rome, GA. He is also black. He meets a 15 year, 7 month old white female classmate in an empty school trailer and sex occurs. She claims it was rape. He admits the sex, denies the force. The girl was a virgin at the time, and suffered vaginal tearing and bruising during the encounter. Age of consent in GA is 16. Sex with a minor is a felony here in all circumstances except when the victim is 14 or 15, the offender is no more than three years older than the victim, the encounter is consensual, and the victim is not injured as a result.
He's charged with rape (carnal knowledge of a female against her will); aggravated child molestation (an immoral or indecent act with a child under 16 to gratify the offender or the child in which the child is physically injured - emphasis mine); misdemeanor statutory rape (sex with girl at least 14 not yet sixteen, less than 3 year age difference); and a few other serious offense related to battery and false imprisonment. At trial, the sex is conceded, consent is offered as the defense to the other charges. A key defense witness is a classmate who claims the girl admitted making the rape charge up, because her racist father would be furious to learn she'd had sex with a black guy. She denied this vehemently at the trial, and denies it to this day.
Nevertheless, a jury acquits him of rape, battery, false imprisonment, etc., finding him guilty of statutory rape and aggravated child molestation. Now comes the big surprise at the end. Here in Georgia, jurors are not told about the range of punishment available to ensure that they apply the facts to the law. The minimum sentence for aggravated child molestation is 10 years in prison. That's what Dixon got. Dixon has appealed the sentence, claiming the molestation statute was misused in his case. It is claimed Dixon is being singled out based on race, and that he is the only person ever charged with child molestation in a case like this. If they're talking about all across Georgia, I know for a fact this is false. I have personally seen a case where it happened, where the defendant is white.
Dixon makes for a highly sympathetic figure. His grades and SAT scores were exceptional. He was an outstanding football player, and apparently had his pick of Southeastern football powers begging to give him a scholarship. He chose Vanderbilt, which has a laughingstock of a football team, but also has a fabulous reputation for academics. (His scholarship was rescinded after his conviction.) Less known is he also had a history of sexually inappropriate behavior regarding his female classmates. (Dixon either pleads youthful hijinks or denies it, depending on which incident you're talking about.)
His case is currently before the Georgia Supreme Court. Analysis about some of the claims commonly made about this case will be posted separately.
I figured at some point I'd feel compelled to weigh in on the Marcus Dixon case. Dixon, for those not in the know, is one of the bigger local interest stories here in GA, and it's gotten a fair amount of national play. More or less, the facts are as follows: Dixon is 18, a star athlete and scholar in Rome, GA. He is also black. He meets a 15 year, 7 month old white female classmate in an empty school trailer and sex occurs. She claims it was rape. He admits the sex, denies the force. The girl was a virgin at the time, and suffered vaginal tearing and bruising during the encounter. Age of consent in GA is 16. Sex with a minor is a felony here in all circumstances except when the victim is 14 or 15, the offender is no more than three years older than the victim, the encounter is consensual, and the victim is not injured as a result.
He's charged with rape (carnal knowledge of a female against her will); aggravated child molestation (an immoral or indecent act with a child under 16 to gratify the offender or the child in which the child is physically injured - emphasis mine); misdemeanor statutory rape (sex with girl at least 14 not yet sixteen, less than 3 year age difference); and a few other serious offense related to battery and false imprisonment. At trial, the sex is conceded, consent is offered as the defense to the other charges. A key defense witness is a classmate who claims the girl admitted making the rape charge up, because her racist father would be furious to learn she'd had sex with a black guy. She denied this vehemently at the trial, and denies it to this day.
Nevertheless, a jury acquits him of rape, battery, false imprisonment, etc., finding him guilty of statutory rape and aggravated child molestation. Now comes the big surprise at the end. Here in Georgia, jurors are not told about the range of punishment available to ensure that they apply the facts to the law. The minimum sentence for aggravated child molestation is 10 years in prison. That's what Dixon got. Dixon has appealed the sentence, claiming the molestation statute was misused in his case. It is claimed Dixon is being singled out based on race, and that he is the only person ever charged with child molestation in a case like this. If they're talking about all across Georgia, I know for a fact this is false. I have personally seen a case where it happened, where the defendant is white.
Dixon makes for a highly sympathetic figure. His grades and SAT scores were exceptional. He was an outstanding football player, and apparently had his pick of Southeastern football powers begging to give him a scholarship. He chose Vanderbilt, which has a laughingstock of a football team, but also has a fabulous reputation for academics. (His scholarship was rescinded after his conviction.) Less known is he also had a history of sexually inappropriate behavior regarding his female classmates. (Dixon either pleads youthful hijinks or denies it, depending on which incident you're talking about.)
His case is currently before the Georgia Supreme Court. Analysis about some of the claims commonly made about this case will be posted separately.
