Crime and incorrect punishment

Yesterday, David Dixon was sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing two young men who, along with a third man, were breaking into cars in a parking lot. Dixon, at the time an off-duty police officer at the Pentagon, confronted them. When they drove away, he fired the shots that killed the two.

Also yesterday, the man who attacked Rep. Angie Craig in the elevator of her D.C. apartment received a sentence of 27 months. The judge recommended that the time by served in a medical center of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The man in question, Kendrick Hamlin, had a long history of violent conduct, including assault of a police officer. Federal prosecutors in D.C. asked for a sentence of 39 months.

Dixon’s sentence seems way too harsh. Hamlin’s sentences seems far too lenient.

When I checked with Bill Otis, a sentencing hardliner, he told me that hardly anyone gets 25 years for the crimes Dixon pleaded guilty to — second degree murder and first degree assault. That’s especially true of offenders with no prior criminal record, which Dixon apparently is.

Instead of a criminal record, Dixon’s record includes 20 years of service in law enforcement and the military, including two tours in Afghanistan. This history seems to have made no impression on the sentencing judge.

The sentencing judge tried to justify the sentence by noting the killings inflicted great pain on those close to the deceased. But nearly every killing inflicts great pain on those close to the victim. And the average victim isn’t someone caught in the act of committing a crime.

In this case, those close to the deceased testified about how they feel. The third participant in the car break-ins — the one who wasn’t killed — talked about how painful it still feels to have been in the car when his friends were shot.

I find it hard to feel sorry for the guy. It was only because he decided to participate in the crime that he found himself in the car at which the fatal shots were directed.

The mother of one of the deceased testified, “you didn’t even give them [the criminals] a chance.” But it was the criminals’ decision to flee that led to the shootings. Had they not fled, they wouldn’t have been shot at. That was their chance.

The mother of the other victim told Dixon “as an officer of the law, you’re supposed to protect and serve.” But that’s what he was trying to do. Dixon was trying, albeit in the wrong way, to serve the community by apprehending criminals. The D.C. area has been plagued recently by the kind of crimes the deceased were committing.

None of this justifies the killings. Dixon committed serious crimes and deserves to be be punished. But if anything, the facts surrounding his crimes, the apparent absence of prior criminal behavior, and a career of public and military service militate in favor of a shorter than normal sentence, not an usually harsh one.

Bill also reminded me of the Secret Service agents who fired shots at thugs who were in the process of breaking into a car in the neighborhood where Joe Biden’s granddaughter lives — the same crime Dixon’s victims tried to pull. These agents might have killed one or more of the criminals. If they had, I doubt they would be in dock, let alone receive lengthy prison sentences.

The two situations are distinguishable. But they are similar enough to tell me, again, that the sentence Dixon received was too long.

Now, let’s turn to Kendrick Hamlin — that charmer. Why did he, with a long record of assaulting people, get off with only a 27 month sentence?

The sentencing judge, James Boasberg (chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.) cited Hamlin’s “very hard upbringing. . .compounded by unaddressed mental health” and drug abuse issues.

Give us a break. This guy obviously is a menace to society. Hard luck story or not, the sole factor in sentencing a repeat violent offender like Hamlin should be to keep him off the street for as long as the law permits.

Judge Boasberg seems to have given short shrift to the impact of the assault on Rep. Craig and those close to her. She told the court that her wife (Craig is a lesbian) and four sons now live in fear for Craig’s safety. She also said that “while my physical recovery was days, my mental and emotional recovery has taken much longer and is ongoing."

No wonder. Hamlin trapped her in the elevator, grabbed her neck, slammed her into a metal wall, and punched her in the face.

But not to worry. He’ll be off the streets for a year and three months, assuming he serves his full sentence. After that, he’ll be able to assault other law abiding citizens — another example of America’s under-incarceration problem.

Meanwhile, Dixon, who certainly deserves a prison sentence but poses very little threat to society, will be locked away for up to 25 years.

America has truly lost the plot when it comes to criminal sentencing. We no longer have the common sentence and the self confidence needed to protect ourselves from those who are wreaking havoc in our streets and places of residence.

It’s difficult not to fear the worst for such a country.