It has been a long time since I've read a piece of news that made me spit and fume with anger, but that's exactly the reaction I had when I read about the rape case involving the ex-Stanford student Brock Turner. If you haven't heard the story, you can find an informative summary here. Rape, sexual assault, and all other sexual activity that takes place without the consent of both parties is enough to anger me on its own, but the twisted views of the perpetrator, his father, and the judge, along with their ignorant and thoughtless statements and the lack of justice in this case, have made me completely livid.
To Judge Aaron Persky, Whose Honor Is A Title And Nothing More
On June 2, justice was defeated when you sentenced a convicted sexual assaulter and, in all practicality, rapist to a meager six months in jail and three years of probation. What a joke. What a slap to the face of the woman that Brock Turner attacked, who will have to live with crippling fear, shattered emotions, and a devastated self-image for the rest of her life. Not only did you send a message to her that her rape really wasn't that bad, you also showed the public that rape is not any worse than embezzlement or petty theft. You lessened the bar for rape and heightened the need for fear in those who might become victims. You're afraid that incarceration will "have a severe impact on him?" What are you, his grandmother? Are you going to send him some cookies and a get-well-soon card while he does his time? Of course prison is going to have a severe impact on him. It's called punishment. When you rape someone behind a dumpster, you deserve a punishment as severe as the torment the victim will live out the rest of their life, if not worse. It leaves me completely baffled to think you found it acceptable to take a conviction worth a 14 year maximum and reduce the sentencing to six months. On June 2, you utterly failed your duty of upholding the law.
To Dan Turner, The Father And Advocate Of A Rapist
Every statement I've read from you in regards to your son's rape case have been so ignorant and unsympathetic to the victim that they either infuriated me or simply shut down my brain as it over-exhausted itself in an attempt to understand how small-minded you must be. How lacking in humanity must you be to defend a rapist? I have a father, three brothers, and countless close friends, all whom I love, but I would not protect a single one of them from receiving their due punishment if they raped someone. I understand you think you are loving your son when you defend his actions, but the most loving thing you could have done is raised him to respect other people. You should have raised him to know that his desires do not trump the lives of others. You should have raised him to know that superior swim times do not make him superior to other human beings. Your statements have revealed the kind of fathering you provided your son, and I hold you, along with your son, responsible for the rape. You say "His life will never be the one he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action..." I'll go ahead and let anyone reading this to stop and take a couple of deep breaths. I know I need to whenever I read those words. Your son didn't just mess up 20 minutes. He violated another human being. He isn't just paying for a 20 minute crime. He's paying for a 20 minute crime that will have lifelong effects on his victim. What is difficult to understand about this? You tell us that he is having a hard time eating his favorite snacks. Poor boy. Have you heard what the woman he raped has gone through? Let me give it to you in her words.
I was not ready to tell my boyfriend or parents that actually, I may have been raped behind a dumpster, but I don’t know by who or when or how. If I told them, I would see the fear on their faces, and mine would multiply by tenfold, so instead I pretended the whole thing wasn’t real. I tried to push it out of my mind, but it was so heavy I didn’t talk, I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t interact with anyone. After work, I would drive to a secluded place to scream. I didn’t talk, I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t interact with anyone, and I became isolated from the ones I loved most. For over a week after the incident, I didn’t get any calls or updates about that night or what happened to me. The only symbol that proved that it hadn’t just been a bad dream, was the sweatshirt from the hospital in my drawer.
So please, tell me more about how hard it is for your son to eat. Maybe you can help Judge Persky in sending your rapist an Edible Arrangement.
To Brock Turner, The Conscious Intoxicated Rapist
The portion of your statement to the judge that has been released for the public makes me sick to my stomach. Your shallow apologies were rendered void when you refused to take responsibility for your actions and accept the punishment that comes along with rape. Instead, you subjected your victim to even more psychological torment as she was picked apart by your attorney in front of the gathering of a court. You're not sorry, and you have no desire to make amends. Your words are meaningless without action. Throughout your statement, you place the blame on alcohol and promiscuity instead of the issue that is within your heart. You say "I wish I had the ability to go back in time and never pick up a drink that night, let alone interact with [name withheld]," but the fault doesn't lie with a drink or the woman, the fault lies with your lack of value for anyone but yourself. There are countless people who lead lifestyles full of drunkenness and promiscuity who move through their entire life without sexually assaulting another human being. Are you really going to act like four months of "party culture and risk-taking behavior" are too much for a person to go through without sexually assaulting someone? Your words are selfish. You talk about all the change you can bring by speaking out about "the destructive consequences of making decisions while under the influence of alcohol," but you aren't receiving the full penalty of the "destructive consequences" that you deserve. You tell us "One needs to recognize the influence that peer pressure and the attitude of having to fit in can have on someone," but no one was pressuring you to rape an unconscious woman, and sexual assault doesn't fall within the boundaries of "fitting in." You are convicted for sexual assault, not inebriation. "All I can do from these events moving forward is by proving to everyone who I really am as a person," but the fact is you've already proven what kind of person you are. You're entitled, selfish, irresponsible, and unrepentant.
It's appalling that there are people in this world that will downplay and overlook rape. I fear this entire case will have a negative impact on the fight against rape culture. People need to continue speaking out against the root of the problem: the desires of one person do not outweigh the rights of another. Sexual activity without a verbal "yes" is rape. While many aspects of this story are bleak, it also has some good in it. I am proud of the two men who rescued the woman. I admire the strength of the victim, her ability to stand before her assaulter to speak out against him, and all she has done to teach the population of the consequences of rape. My hope is that there will be a change in the lives of these three men, and that the outrage this case has sparked in the public will initiate an evaluation in sentencing that ensures justice is secured for every victim of sexual assault.
