Albany

Let's talk about two recent tales of crime and punishment.

The first involves Marquis Dixon, an Albany High student recently convicted of a sneaker robbery. In March, he and another teen arranged on Facebook to meet outside the McDonald's on South Pearl Street in Albany, where Dixon lifted his shirt to reveal what may have been a handgun before fleeing with the shoes.

The punishment: nine years in state prison.

The second case involves Steven Walker, a Schoharie County man who pleaded guilty (while maintaining his innocence) to pulling three teeth from the mouth of a disabled girl under his care. Police believe Walker, 35, used pliers or another tool to pull the child's teeth.

The punishment: four years in state prison.

Now everybody, I think, would agree that the crime against the 8-year-old girl was more heinous, painful and heartbreaking. James Sacket, the district attorney in Schoharie County, said what happened to her was "akin to torture."

Yet Dixon's sentence was twice as long. How does that make sense?

Attorneys and judges will be quick to object to the question, and it's true that the cases are hardly an apples-to-apples comparison. The crimes are vastly different. They happened in different counties. Dixon went to trial, while Walker pleaded guilty.

I get all that. I understand there are vagaries within the criminal justice system and that varying circumstances can bring vastly different results.

Still, if you step back and take the long view, this remains: The less horrific crime was punished more severely.

There are plenty of other examples, of course. I'll remind you that Dennis Drue is serving just 5 to 15 years for an alcohol-fueled Northway crash that killed two Shenendehowa High School students.

Unlike the Walker or Drue cases, Dixon's trial didn't receive heavy media attention, and I don't know all that much about him personally — other than that he's poor, black and from the South End. I wasn't able to reach his family, and I didn't attend the trial.

What I do know about him and his crime comes mostly from reading the case file and talking to his public defender, Michael Feit, and representatives from the Albany County district attorney's office.

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Dixon was 16 when he met a 17-year-old from Coeymans on a Facebook page for sneaker enthusiasts. They arranged to meet at 9:30 p.m. on a Monday so Dixon could buy the sneakers, which were worth $250. Instead, Dixon forcibly took them.

Was there really a gun? The victim apparently believed so, but police never found one.

"The kid did not have a gun," Feit insisted. "There's no evidence whatsoever that he had a gun."

Under the law, there didn't need to be. To be charged with robbery in the first degree, as Dixon was, requires only that the perpetrator display "what appears to be" a firearm.

The victim didn't immediately call 911 or report the crime, but Dixon wasn't difficult to track down once he did. The teen from the South End used his Facebook page to arrange the meeting.

The district attorney's office subsequently offered Dixon a deal: Four years in prison, with three years probation. But Dixon and Feit turned it down, convinced the lack of gun evidence would weigh in their favor.

"It's a defendant's choice if he wants to go to trial," said Assistant District Attorney Linda Griggs, who prosecuted the case. "But once he's convicted, it's up to the judge."

Under state law, Judge Thomas Breslin could have sentenced Dixon to 25 years. (Five years was the minimum.) In that respect, he got off easy, though easy is an odd way to describe a nine-year sentence.

"He will be around a lot of people who shot and raped and robbed banks or whatever," Feit said, later adding: "It's a sad situation anytime you lock somebody up for nine years because he was stupid enough to steal a pair of sneakers."

Many readers will feel no sympathy for Dixon, and I'm not asking anyone to. Street crimes take a terrible toll in Albany, and should be punished.

But there's something about Dixon's case that bothers me. Maybe its the almost routine way we send teens to prison, essentially dooming them to become hardened criminals. Or, maybe it's the inequity of a justice system that so frequently doesn't make sense.

One last question: If Dixon was white and from Bethlehem, would he be sitting in prison?

cchurchill@timesunion.com • 518-454-5442 • @chris_churchill