Brock Turner Should Not Have His Sentence Overturned | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Brock Turner, You Will Not Win This One

Your case could be overturned, but your story will live on forever.

1201
Brock Turner, You Will Not Win This One
Wikimedia Commons

In the early hours of January 18th, 2015, two lives were forever changed.

One became a victim, the other a registered sex offender. The latter of the two most definitely deserves his new identity, but he should have paid a much higher price. Brock Turner, I have been following your case from the very beginning, and I have a few words for you.

For one reason or another, you do not think you should have to live with the weight of this case on your shoulders. Most recently, you have stated that you would like your case overturned, which ultimately means that you'd like to pretend as if all of this never happened.

You do not want to be known as the Stanford freshman who sexually assaulted someone outside of a fraternity house. I don't think that anyone would want that label, but you get what you give.

You are a coward. You are a predator. You are evil.

Your father believes that "20 minutes of action" was not enough to taint your reputation as the Stanford swimmer. You know what? Had you not made the conscientious decision to ultimately ruin somebody else's life, you could still be the Olympic-hopeful that everyone knew and loved.

You could've had it all.

Instead, you chose to rape an unconscious, intoxicated woman behind a dumpster and blame it on alcohol consumption and "sexual promiscuity," whilst also claiming that it was consensual. It's been said before, and I'll say it again:

Somebody who is under heavy influence of drugs and/or alcohol is not able to give proper consent.

No matter how much you'd like to believe she wanted it, too, she did not. She does not remember anything from the incident, and you knew that she likely had too much to drink, so you are the only one at fault here.

Do not blame this on any sexual tendencies she may have had, while at a BAC over three times the legal limit, she was incapable of giving ANY consent. How would you feel if you woke up in a hospital, only to find out later that you were raped at a frat party? Not only that, she was informed of this through the internet and television news.

I want you to take a moment to think about how traumatizing this must have been for her.

Judge Persky was concerned that an actual prison sentence would have "a severe impact" on you, never mind the fact that there is someone out there who probably lost countless hours of sleep because of what you did to her.

Hopefully, you were listening to her 7,000-word statement that she read to you directly at your sentencing on June 2, 2016. Having read the whole thing myself, I found it to be very powerful and emotional, but one of the opening lines is the most iconic by far:

You don't know me, but you've been inside me, and that's why we're here today.

That in itself is enough reason for you to live with the consequences of your actions.

You claim that you would “give anything to change what happened," but would you really? If so, with whose wellbeing in mind? What you did was outwardly selfish, inhumane, and wrong. I'm not sure how many times you'll need to be told that before you finally accept the punishments you HAVE been given.

For what it's worth, you received a VERY lenient punishment. You were sentenced six months in a county jail — not even a federal prison — to only serve half of that due to "good behavior"? Meanwhile, the woman you inflicted inexplicable pain upon will deal with what happened for the rest of her life.

You may be known as the former Stanford swimmer, but you will ALWAYS be a registered sex offender in the state of Ohio. Unfortunately, your previous credentials will always remain with you in the eyes of society, but it does not change the fact that what you did is irreversible.

If anything, following your story has taught me that some things in life are simply unfair. I hope that you will eventually accept that what you did was wrong and that you'll strive to become a better person. I think that would be a long shot, as you will never be able to erase what you did. That in itself could never excuse the injustices your victim faced through all of this, but I hope she knows that there are so many people on her side. Though her identity remains anonymous to the public, she prevailed with dignity, strength, and courage, and she set an example for sexual assault victims nationwide to speak up.

You will not win this one, Mr. Turner.

Report this Content
Featured

12 Midnight NYE: Fun Ideas!

This isn't just for the single Pringles out there either, folks

15005
Friends celebrating the New Years!
StableDiffusion

When the clock strikes twelve midnight on New Year's Eve, do you ever find yourself lost regarding what to do during that big moment? It's a very important moment. It is the first moment of the New Year, doesn't it seem like you should be doing something grand, something meaningful, something spontaneous? Sure, many decide to spend the moment on the lips of another, but what good is that? Take a look at these other suggestions on how to ring in the New Year that are much more spectacular and exciting than a simple little kiss.

Keep Reading...Show less
piano
Digital Trends

I am very serious about the Christmas season. It's one of my favorite things, and I love it all from gift-giving to baking to the decorations, but I especially love Christmas music. Here are 11 songs you should consider adding to your Christmas playlists.

Keep Reading...Show less
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

3029
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1825
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments