General: The Courting of Marcus Dixon

On Wednesday, the Georgia Supreme Court heard the appeal for 19-year old Marcus Dixon, who will remain at the Burrus Correctional Training Center for nine more years without the possibility of parole if his plea is denied.

It is possible that the case may be heard by the United States Supreme Court, but the defense lawyer team led by David Basler hopes that is not necessary.

Who is Marcus Dixon, what did he do and why is his story creating such nationwide attention?

His is a tragic and controversial tale that stretches beyond the football field, the law and time.

On February 13, 2003, 18-year old Dixon was arrested for allegedly raping a schoolmate on campus.

The 15-year old girl accused the All-State, Vanderbilt-bound senior lineman of forcing her to have sex.

He was charged with rape, imprisonment, sexual battery, aggravated assault and child molestation.

Dixon contended they had arranged the encounter and the sex was consensual.

During the trial, witnesses testified that the girl, who is white, had earlier said the sex was consensual, but later recanted her story for fear of possible backlash from her father, a racist.

The prosecution argued that Dixon had twice been reprimanded for sexual harassment at school.

A jury of nine whites and three blacks found Dixon innocent of all charges after deliberating for 20 minutes, finding little to no merit in the girl's testimony.

However, the jury was forced to find Marcus guilty of aggravated child molestation and statutory rape since the girl was three months shy of her 16th birthday and that during the intercourse she was "injured" because she was a virgin.

Under Georgia's seven deadly sins laws, the crimes he committed carried a 10-year minimum sentence.

This was reportedly the first time in Georgia's history that a high school teen was prosecuted for a felony for having consensual sex.

Dixon was expelled from Pepperell High School, falling one course short of receiving his high school diploma.

He has since earned his high school-equivalency diploma.

Now Dixon, the former National Honors Society member who earned a 3.96 GPA and 1200 on his SATs, sits in a north Georgian prison and awaits the decision that will affect not only him but the country.

* * * * *

I first read this story after casually glancing at ESPN's Page2.

The first thought that popped into my mind while I was reading the article wasn't about racism, injustice, rape or even Marcus Dixon. It was about Neshoba County, Mississippi.

In the summer of 1964 when Civil Rights activists Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman were investigating the burning of a black church in Neshoba, a heavily segregated area, when they were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price.

Plotting with local Klansmen, Price released the three men so they could be ambushed by the KKK and brutally murdered.

Chaney, the only black man of the three, was tortured before he was killed and a "mangled mess" when his corpse was discovered.

The investigation into the murders at one point involved President Johnson and J. Edgar Hoover.

Eventually, 19 men, including Price, were indicted.

Seven were found guilty and Price was sentenced to six years.

Many were paroled or released from prison before or during the '70s.

This incident came to be known as the Mississippi Burning and is one of the saddest and sorriest events in American Civil Rights history.

Now, the question is -- why did Marcus Dixon remind me of Neshoba?

Twenty years later a football player of transcendent talent emerged from that save county.

Marcus Dupree, perhaps the greatest high school football player of all-time, brought together an entire community of whites and blacks that still remembered (and still remembers to this very day) the deep scars left by the '64 murders, as is described in the magnificent 1983 Willie Morris novel "The Courting of Marcus Dupree."

Although his collegiate and professional career were derailed by injuries and fallouts, Dupree was hired in July 2003 as a college scout for the Washington Redskins.

Twenty years later the irony is overwhelming: the South is courting a different Marcus, but this time it is different type of courting and it is not bringing people together, but dividing them.

As Tim Wise has stated, "Dixon... is going to spend the next decade of his life in prison for having consensual sex with a white girl. That is not a misprint and it is not a matter of opinion. That is ultimately why he was expelled from school, why his scholarship was rescinded, and why he may not see freedom until the age of 28."

I don't blame the prosecution or the judge. There's no point in placing blame.

What has happened was beyond wrong; it was ludicrous.

Say what you will about Dixon's accomplishments and his afflictions, but the bottom line is he wouldn't be confined to a one-room cell if he were white or she were black.

However, the public must seek justice.

He has served his time for statutory rape (one year).

He should be able to play SEC football.

He should be able to earn a degree in Education.

Dixon, a special individual blessed with athleticism and intellect, should be a free man.

Race is the defendant that is truly on trial, and we can't allow that to happen in 2004.

Otherwise, why did three men have to die 40 years ago?

I'm not alone in the belief that Marcus Dixon should be freed.

Over 114,000 are voicing their opinions at: http://www.petitiononline.com/dixon/petition.html .

If you feel the same way, let people know!

* * * * *

Note: Many sources were utilized to help compose this article. I encourage people to read all of them.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/jones/040121.html http://www.actforjustice.com/ http://www.helpmarcus.com/ http://www.bet.com/articles/1,,c1gb7953-8798,00.html http://www.11alive.com/help/search/search_article.aspx?storyid=41734 http://www.blackcommentator.com/71/71_wise_sex.html http://www.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=234313 http://users.commkey.net/fussichen/otdmiss.htm