At one point, all Mary Sanders could do Friday was break down in front of a judge and cry.

Minutes after seeing a two-year sentence handed down to a man connected with the slaying of her 21-year-old son nearly a year ago, she walked down the hallway to another courtroom. There, she saw her older son receive a sentence that was more than four times longer for a drug offense: third-time sale of cocaine.

Standing in front of Douglas County District Judge Jack Murphy at the second sentencing, Sanders put her head down and paused for a few moments before she could go on.

“I’m going through a lot of problems. My other son got killed. I just left that courtroom,” said Sanders, of Yazoo City, Miss. “It hurts a lot, and I think about my children a lot. … I didn’t raise my children on the wrong side. I raised them to be good, not to hurt no one.”

The disparity in the back-to-back sentences angered Sanders and her family members, who are still mourning the March 2003 shooting of Quincy M. Sanders. He died with 18 gunshot wounds after a confrontation at a duplex in the 2600 block of Ridge Court.

His surviving family members admit that his background wasn’t spotless, and one relative has acknowledged Quincy Sanders had sold drugs in the past. But they say that’s no reason to value his life any less.

“He didn’t deserve to get shot 18 times, like an animal,” Mary Sanders said.

It makes matters worse, family members say, that the men connected with Sanders’ death haven’t shown any remorse. Corey T. Robinson, 23, Topeka, smiled over his shoulder at members of the Sanders family Friday as deputies led him away in shackles.

That was after Judge Paula Martin sentenced him to the maximum she could in accordance with the state’s criminal-sentencing grid: 13 months for aiding a felon and nine months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, both low-level felonies.

Because he’s already served 11 months in jail, the longest part of his sentence is behind him.

Shooting recounted

The shooting happened after Robinson, co-defendant Tremain V. Scott and another Topeka man met a group of young women at a Lawrence nightclub. They went back to one of the women’s homes and began arguing with some of Sanders’ friends and family members. After a while, Sanders came to the door with a handgun to confront the men.

Scott shot Sanders in the head, then picked up Sanders’ gun and shot him with it as he lay on the ground, according to a witness. Robinson’s role in the killing is more mysterious.

Forensics showed that three guns were fired that night, prosecutor Dave Zabel said. One witness testified that, in the moments before the shooting, she saw Robinson hand a gun to Scott.

“Definitely (Robinson) was involved, but to what extent exactly has never become clear,” Zabel said.

Both Robinson and Scott initially were charged with second-degree murder. Scott received a five-year sentence after pleading to voluntary manslaughter.

Widow appalled

Sanders’ widow, Michelle, said she thought Robinson and Scott had been treated as if they stole a piece of candy, not a life.

“I’m appalled at this judicial system,” she told Martin on Friday. “I can’t believe that they treat murder like it’s nothing.”

Moments later, Lionel Sanders, 25, received a 100-month sentence after being convicted in January of third-time sale or distribution of cocaine. The presumed penalty under sentencing guidelines was between 169 and 187 months, but prosecutors agreed not to oppose a lighter sentence as part of a plea agreement.

“Mr. Sanders has accepted responsibility for his actions,” prosecutor Dan Dunbar said.