Cowboys sign a story line- first UDFA Marcus Dixon *Merge*

[cowboyeric8]

Very interesting conversation. But he seems to be a good guy, just a dumb kid. But hopefully he has grown up.

 

[Bleu Star]

I hate the race card thing. It's used to often by everyone.

But, if you have a black guy who has sex with a white girl and a white guy who has sex with a black girl in rural Georgia, who's more likely to get in trouble. My bet would be on the former. That part of the country is still so backwards it's scary.

Tru

Black guy out.

 

[Bleu Star]

i've got family from GA and in the smaller towns, yep. it can get pretty bad. i also 100% agree with how people will view it. me? i really don't care. if two people wanna get hippity, get hippity and i don't really care who's what color. but i did have a friend from alabama who'd come over when i lived in valley ranch. right across from me a GORGEOUS redhead lived there with a black boyfriend. they were both very cool to me so i just never cared or saw it.

i mean, you can't help but notice the color of someone but why does it matter after that?

in any event, my alabama friend made a few comments about it and i just told him to go blow chunkmonkies and don't worry about it. if they care enough for each other to put up with the crap ignorance spawns, that's pretty special in my book.

Bravo for you.

:clap2:

 

[Bleu Star]

Well, if he makes the team, and this team gets to the Super Bowl, he aint gonna have problems with white girls (groupies) chasing him.

I'm just saying.

I don't think many guys (black, white, purple) would have any problem whatsoever with some groupie chase.

 

[VietCowboy]

If you're an adult male of any race or color and decide to have sex with a minor, chances are you're going to get charged with statuatory rape in most, if not all states. It has nothing to do with racism or a black guy having sex with a white girl. You may not agree with the law, but it's the law and it's there for a reason.

And since it seems to be OK with some people here, at what age would it be appropriate for an 18 year old adult to have intercourse with a minor? 12, 13, 14....or younger? At what point do you draw the line? Would we be so quick to say it's OK if the girl was 13? After all, she's "only" five years younger than the adult male. Sorry, there just seems to be a problem here with a young man who's an adult but seems to like 14 and 15 year olds, as well as exposing himself in the class room. Dixon was never charged with two out of the three incidents which tells me the guy got a pass and race wasn't an issue.

I'm sorry, can you seriously sit there and tell us that the high school you went to, NO 18 year old dated a younger student? that EVERY senior who graduated and was 18 was a virgin? That EVERY senior who was 18 and had sex with someone who was underage got reported, charged, and went to court and most importantly, convicted? You are telling me that every teenager who dates in high school does not do anything more than holding hands? Okay, I guess the sky-rocket rates of teen pregnancy, that 1 out of 2 teens who graduate high school have had sex, and that 1 out of 4 teens have an STD are just rumors.

cool beans.

 

[Dodger12]

there's a difference between being charged and getting convicted. Feel free to look at the statistics with regards to race and see if there is not a discrepancy...there is, from minor violations, all the way to death sentences, the black man is always in the worse position (while the white woman is always the best)

I have no doubt there's a discrepancy but sometimes the answer is not always racially related. Sometimes we need to look at the cause of the problem and not always make excuses for the improper conduct. If I read your post right, you're assuming that law enforcement overlooks crime by white offenders for the same crime as a reason for the discrepancy and I'm not so sure that's the case. Maybe it's something as simple as white women committ less crime overall?

There is a reason why we now have the coin "racial profiling." One of my sorority sisters was a witness to a shooting. She was allowed to leave without questioning because she did not look black/latino nor had a black/latino last name (she's latina). This was when she was living in Texas. This was not even 5 years ago.

Did she inform the police that she was a witness? Or did the police already have someone in custody? There can be other reasons for not being questioned. You're assuming that since she wasn't questioned that there must be some type of racial overtones, even thought she looked non-black/latino. Just my opinion but that might be a stretch.

So, with regards to this, I can definitely understand why there are racist undertones in this situation. I know of plenty of 17 and 18 year olds who have had sex with minors a couple of years younger than them. None of them have been charged or convicted

You may know and the parents may not have had a problem with it so it was never brought to the police's attention. The bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that, in Dixon's case, the more serious offense was tossed out since the jury believed the sex was consensual but the lesser charge of statuatory rape still stands. There's no denying that he had intercourse with a minor, whether she agreed or not is not the issue. This had nothing to do with race.

 

[VietCowboy]

I have no doubt there's a discrepancy but sometimes the answer is not always racially related. Sometimes we need to look at the cause of the problem and not always make excuses for the improper conduct. If I read your post right, you're assuming that law enforcement overlooks crime by white offenders for the same crime as a reason for the discrepancy and I'm not so sure that's the case. Maybe it's something as simple as white women committ less crime overall?

No, just look at crimes of similar nature and see who gets more convictions as well as the worser punishment. It isn't simply that white women commit less crime, but they are less likely to be charged, convicted, and receive the same types of punish if it was a black male.

Did she inform the police that she was a witness? Or did the police already have someone in custody? There can be other reasons for not being questioned. You're assuming that since she wasn't questioned that there must be some type of racial overtones, even thought she looked non-black/latino. Just my opinion but that might be a stretch.

They looked at her ID saw her last name, and let her go without a word. The did not even ask her if she saw the shooting. ALL HER FRIENDS SHE WAS WITH WAS NOT RELEASED and were questioned and some for a long time. They all had typical latino and black names. There was nobody in custody nor anyone charged at the time.

You may know and the parents may not have had a problem with it so it was never brought to the police's attention. The bottom line of what I'm trying to say is that, in Dixon's case, the more serious offense was tossed out since the jury believed the sex was consensual but the lesser charge of statuatory rape still stands. There's no denying that he had intercourse with a minor, whether she agreed or not is not the issue. This had nothing to do with race.

this had to do with race in that the prosecutors committed to charging him with the more serious offenses, when in general, you rarely hear of non-blacks or females his age getting charged with not only statutory rape, but also aggrevated sexual assault and rape in general (especially when they knew they did not have the evidence to back it up, which is why the jury agreed with the defense that it wasn't forcible rape which they acquitted on 4 counts). If all he was charged with was statutory rape, then it would have not been a race issue.

 

[Dodger12]

I'm sorry, can you seriously sit there and tell us that the high school you went to, NO 18 year old dated a younger student? that EVERY senior who graduated and was 18 was a virgin? That EVERY senior who was 18 and had sex with someone who was underage got reported, charged, and went to court and most importantly, convicted? You are telling me that every teenager who dates in high school does not do anything more than holding hands? Okay, I guess the sky-rocket rates of teen pregnancy, that 1 out of 2 teens who graduate high school have had sex, and that 1 out of 4 teens have an STD are just rumors.

cool beans.

I don't know what you're rambling about since I never said any of the above nor insuated it. My point is simple if you throw out all the BS excuses people are making. If you, as a parent, have no problem with your minor child having a relationship with an adult, that's your choice and I respect it. But if an adult has that type of relatioinship and the parent(s) don't approve, they'd be well within the law to have charges filed.

Okay, I guess the sky-rocket rates of teen pregnancy, that 1 out of 2 teens who graduate high school have had sex, and that 1 out of 4 teens have an STD are just rumors.

Or maybe this is the reason for the law to begin with...to try and protect these kids. A 14 or 15 year old may not understand the consequences of their actions, as opposed to an adult who should know better.

 

[Dodger12]

What the hell?

Besides the racist stuff he endured which is I agree is really messed up, he took a risk with a 15 year old girl after turning 18. It's not a race issue at all. After I turned 18 a few years ago it really sucked because I still had a lot of 17 y/o chick friends and it's really just a risk you have to make. If their parents find out then it's statutory rape up to 30 years (here in Cali).

The dude simply took the risk and unfortunately got busted.

Oh yeah, welcome to the Cowboys, Marcus.

Exactly my point Cali. Thanks

 

[VietCowboy]

I don't know what you're rambling about since I never said any of the above nor insuated it. My point is simple if you throw out all the BS excuses people are making. If you, as a parent, have no problem with your minor child having a relationship with an adult, that's your choice and I respect it. But if an adult has that type of relatioinship and the parent(s) don't approve, they'd be well within the law to have charges filed.



Or maybe this is the reason for the law to begin with...to try and protect these kids. A 14 or 15 year old may not understand the consequences of their actions, as opposed to an adult who should know better.

no one is arguing against adults vs kids. They are sympathizing with teenagers, who generally especially boys have not as well developed frontal lobe as others, are getting in trouble for the same crime as if they were 40 years old. 18 years old is an arbitrary number, and statutory rape is in fact varied across the states with regards to ages, age ranges, etc.

You said "If you're an adult male of any race or color and decide to have sex with a minor, chances are you're going to get charged with statuatory rape in most, if not all states."

I say, that is not true. Many states have age ranges, where 19 year olds can have sex with 17 year olds and that is not considered statutory rape, or 18 year olds can have sex with 15 year olds. The point is that this kid got very very very harsh charges, many of which were racially charged rather than evidentially collected like it should have been. And you are saying that an 18 should know better? Hell many college students don't know better. research has shown we don't fully develop our frontal lobes for executive functioning until 25

 

[VietCowboy]

If you're an adult male of any race or color and decide to have sex with a minor, chances are you're going to get charged with statuatory rape in most, if not all states.

This is why I insinuated that your belief that no 18-19 year old high school student has sex. Because the fact of the matter is, many who do decide to have sex with a minor DON'T get charged with statutory rape. Just ask the many school teachers who decide to have sex with their students. The thing that makes this case worse, is not only was he charged with statutory rape, but quite a few others as well.

 

[Dodger12]

this had to do with race in that the prosecutors committed to charging him with the more serious offenses, when in general, you rarely hear of non-blacks or females his age getting charged with not only statutory rape, but also aggrevated sexual assault and rape in general (especially when they knew they did not have the evidence to back it up, which is why the jury agreed with the defense that it wasn't forcible rape which they acquitted on 4 counts). If all he was charged with was statutory rape, then it would have not been a race issue.

We'll just agree to disagree and I respect your opinion. But, to me, the fact that Dixon wasn't charged with two prior incidents should tell you something. At some point, when you start seeing repetitive behavior from an adult with minors, someone has to draw the line and the DA did as he/she believed the law was written.

"Because Dixon was 18 and Brown was 15, what transpired between them, according to Georgia law as it was written, was technically aggravated child molestation. The statute was enacted to protect children from adult predators, but in recent years other states have passed so-called Romeo and Juliet laws to distinguish between full-fledged adults and 18- and 19-year-olds."

I'm glad they changed the law to distinguish an 18 year old from a sexual predator for whom the law was intended. But that didn't make his prosecution a witch hunt or he would have been charged for the two prior offenses but was given a pass by school officials.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to root for this kid because he's a Dallas Cowboy but he also screwed up and there's no one to blame but himself.

 

[VietCowboy]

We'll just agree to disagree and I respect your opinion. But, to me, the fact that Dixon wasn't charged with two prior incidents should tell you something. At some point, when you start seeing repetitive behavior from an adult with minors, someone has to draw the line and the DA did as he/she believed the law was written.

"Because Dixon was 18 and Brown was 15, what transpired between them, according to Georgia law as it was written, was technically aggravated child molestation. The statute was enacted to protect children from adult predators, but in recent years other states have passed so-called Romeo and Juliet laws to distinguish between full-fledged adults and 18- and 19-year-olds."

I'm glad they changed the law to distinguish an 18 year old from a sexual predator for whom the law was intended. But that didn't make his prosecution a witch hunt or he would have been charged for the two prior offenses but was given a pass by school officials.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to root for this kid because he's a Dallas Cowboy but he also screwed up and there's no one to blame but himself.

I'm sorry, but only some teens who commit crimes go on to be offenders as adults. Many, become law-abiding citizens. Yes, most adult offenders were juvenile offenders, but the majority of juvenile offenders don' go on to becoming adult offenders. If that makes sense.

With regards to the 2 prior offenses, LOTS of kids have offenses that get charges dropped. I see them them everyday, and they generally don't persist once they reach a certain age. The fact is, that the police don't generally bring that into account with adult offenses unless they were serious crimes, like homocide. I've seen kids who have repeated had their probation revocated as a juvenile, and yet they would not get any worser punishments later on. Just more probation.

edit: read your first paragraph wrong. I guess it is true if he was with a minor that was a lot younger than him, but she was 15, and most likely wanted to be with the baseball/basketball/football star more than her getting seduced by him.

 

[Dodger12]

no one is arguing against adults vs kids. They are sympathizing with teenagers, who generally especially boys have not as well developed frontal lobe as others, are getting in trouble for the same crime as if they were 40 years old. 18 years old is an arbitrary number, and statutory rape is in fact varied across the states with regards to ages, age ranges, etc.

You said "If you're an adult male of any race or color and decide to have sex with a minor, chances are you're going to get charged with statuatory rape in most, if not all states."

I say, that is not true. Many states have age ranges, where 19 year olds can have sex with 17 year olds and that is not considered statutory rape, or 18 year olds can have sex with 15 year olds. The point is that this kid got very very very harsh charges, many of which were racially charged rather than evidentially collected like it should have been. And you are saying that an 18 should know better? Hell many college students don't know better. research has shown we don't fully develop our frontal lobes for executive functioning until 25

Most states have identified ages for which someone is classified as a minor. That may vary from state to state but my statement that if "you're an adult male of any race or color and decide to have sex with a minor, chances are you're going to get charged with statuatory rape in most, if not all states" is absolutely true. It only depends on what that state defines as a "minor."

Many states have age ranges......18 year olds can have sex with 15 year olds."

I'm not saying you're wrong but, out of curiosity, do you know which state or states?

And you are saying that an 18 should know better?

Absolutely

Hell many college students don't know better. research has shown we don't fully develop our frontal lobes for executive functioning until 25

 

[VietCowboy]

Most states have identified ages for which someone is classified as a minor. That may vary from state to state but my statement that if "you're an adult male of any race or color and decide to have sex with a minor, chances are you're going to get charged with statuatory rape in most, if not all states" is absolutely true. It only depends on what that state defines as a "minor."



I'm not saying you're wrong but, out of curiosity, do you know which state or states?


Absolutely

yep...many new england states. I think Maine and conneticut are 4-5 years apart. the age of consent for states ranges from as low as 14 (YES!) to 18 (probably those red states, okay, maybe not). so yes, there are quite a few states where 18 year olds and 15 year olds can have sex. legally.

EDIT to add in the "romeo and juliet" laws:

Colorado

The unfettered age of consent in Colorado is 17, however there exist in the legislation close in age exceptions which allow those at least 15 and less than 17 to engage in acts with those less than ten years older and those less than 15 to engage in acts with those less than four years older.



I'm including this because I thought it was interesting. In florida, a 23 year 11 months 30 days oldcan have sex with a 16 year old:
Florida

The age of consent in Florida is 16/18, close in age exemptions exist. By law, the exception permits an adult under the age of 24 to engage in legal sexual activity with a minor no younger than the age of 16.


Maryland

The age of consent in Maryland is 16. An exception is made when the actor is not at least four years older than the victim. However, if someone in a "position of authority" engages in a sexual act with a minor, he or she may be guilty of sexual offense in the fourth degree as specified by Maryland Code § 3-308.



Minnesota

The age of consent in Minnesota is 16.
If the actor is in a position of authority, the age of consent is 18. If the victim is under the age of 13 the actor must be no more than 36 months older. If the victim is between the ages of 13 and 15 the actor must be no more than 48 months older. The specifics of these laws are covered under Sections 609.34x of the Minnesota Criminal Code. Specifically sections 609.341 Definitions, 609.342 Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree, 609.343 Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree, 609.344 Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Third Degree, 609.345 Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Fourth Degree, 609.3451 Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Fifth Degree, and 609.349 Voluntary Relationships. These laws have been translated into layman's terms at the child sexual abuse prevention website youcanstopitnow.org.

New Jersey


The age of consent in New Jersey is 16. However, law also states that if I minor is under 18, they may engage in sexual activities with persons up to 4 years older than them. For example, it is lawful for a 14 year old male or female to engage with sex with a person up to 18 years of age. This also applies for 13 year olds (up to 17), and etc. [7]



Pennsylvania

The age of consent in Pennsylvania is 13 years / 16 years of age.
The age of consent is 13 years of age when the oldest person (both must be over 13) is less than four years older than the complainant. for example... 13/(17 - 1 day) 14/ (18 - 1 day) 15/ (19- 1 day).
The age of consent is 16 years of age in all other cases.



MY STATE:

Tennessee

In a statutory rape case in Tennessee the official age of consent is 13. However, in the case of statutory rape it becomes more complicated if both parties are over the age. The official stance of the state of Tennessee on age of consent is "Statutory rape is sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or of the defendant by the victim when the victim is at least thirteen (13) but less than eighteen (18) years of age and the defendant is at least four (4) years older than the victim." {Full text of TN statutory rape laws [8]} Tennessee law does not give clear directions for cases in which both parties are below age of consent.

 

[ilovejerry]

Hey Kid,

Give them Hell. You were railroaded and now your a DALLAS COWBOY !!!! GO for it, all you need to do is look toward the future, I'm in your corner,
C

 

[Dodger12]

yep...many new england states. I think Maine and conneticut are 4-5 years apart. the age of consent for states ranges from as low as 14 (YES!) to 18 (probably those red states, okay, maybe not). so yes, there are quite a few states where 18 year olds and 15 year olds can have sex. legally.

Thanks for the links and your view points VC even though I disagree with some of it, and thanks to the Mods for some leeway in the discussion that went a bit off-topic.

 

[BLEU3ASY]

Hey Kid,

Give them Hell. You were railroaded and now your a DALLAS COWBOY !!!! GO for it, all you need to do is look toward the future, I'm in your corner,
C

this happened to another kid here in GA....and to make it worse this wasn't a little backwoods town. this was in the metro area. the girl was black and they did him the same exact way....the law was made for an adult sleeping with teenagers....not for teens sleeping with teens who are only a few years apart.