Brock Turner is a name that has recently been all over news headlines and social media feeds. He is the man convicted in June 2016 of raping an unconscious woman in January 2015 behind a dumpster. Many people are upset and angered by the very short length of his sentence: only six months.
With good behavior, this sentence will likely be reduced to three months. Turner will serve a jail sentence (in a county jail) that is the length of a summer vacation while his victim deals with the pain, trauma, and violation caused by his unspeakable acts for the rest of her life.
The judge that sentenced Turner justified his choice of punishment by saying that prison would be too harsh.
"A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him," Judge Aaron Persky said. "I think he will not be a danger to others."
Turner would not have been convicted if it weren't for two eyewitnesses that stopped the assault, Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, two Stanford Ph.D. students from Switzerland. The two men pinned Turner down and held him on the ground until police arrived after he tried to run from them.
The convicted rapist was also a Stanford student and a talented swimmer, as we have been reminded in letters from his father and ex-girlfriend to Judge Persky. These letters infer the short 3 month sentence to be unnecessary.
Turner's father Dan wrote in his letter that a long sentence would be "a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 years of life."
These letters were likely inspired by an alternate letter written to Brock Turner by the woman that he raped, which has now gone viral. The anonymous rape victim also urged Judge Persky to sentence Turner a longer sentence in a state prison.
Vice President Joe Biden wrote a response letter applauding the victim for her bravery and speaking out against Turner's actions, and it was read on June 6 by CNN journalist Ashleigh Banfield on air (watch below).
"Your damage was concrete; stripped of titles, degrees, enrollment," the victim said. "My damage was internal, unseen, I carry it with me. You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice—until today."
According to RAINN, (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) one of six women have been raped or have experienced an attempt of rape within their lifetime. Furthermore, one in 33 men have been sexually assaulted or have experienced an attempt of rape. College-aged women (18-24) are three-to-four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than all women.
Millions have read the letter written by the victim of this heartless, foul, and repulsive crime. However, I believe that it should not take a viral rape case that took place at a large and "prestigious" private university to spark the conversation of sexual assault across the country.
Turner has now been banned from stepping foot on the Stanford University campus and has been barred from membership with USA Swimming or participating in any events affiliated with USA Swimming. This practically ends his competitive swimming career.
The punishments and consequences Turner has faced from Stanford and USA Swimming seem to be more severe than his jail sentence. I wish that I could say that I am appalled that a convicted felon will only have to serve a few months in a county jail, but this disservice happens across the country and the world often.
The fact that both Turner and his victim were under the influence of alcohol has played a hand in those excusing his actions. I have read many comments online that the woman who was raped deserves it for not being responsible. Personally, I believe that it doesn't matter if alcohol is involved. The last time I checked, drinking or being intoxicated isn't an invitation for unwanted sexual advances. The woman was unconscious and intoxicated, so she could not give consent. Period.
Dishearteningly, we live in a country and a world where a criminal's father calls his crime of rape "20 minutes of action," where a judge fails to see that prison is designed to "have a severe impact" on criminals to hopefully invoke change and realization of their unacceptable choices, where consumption of alcohol seems to justify sexual assault, where we teach people not to get raped instead of teaching the boundaries of consent, where criminals do not fear consequences or sentencing due to a lack of severity in court cases, where women and girls are seen and used as objects, and where women and men choose not to report being taken advantage of because the process of trying to achieve justice includes a flawed system.
Rapists kill optimism, hope, a sense of safety, security, and trust—while creating and causing other inexplicable devastation for the family and friends of those affected.
As shown by this case, there is no way to identify and stereotype a rapist. A rapist is simply someone who commits the nauseating crime of rape. This could be a friend, a stranger, a person with an unkept appearance, or a seemingly clean cut white male who happens to be a Stanford athlete.
Rape does not discriminate, and the circumstances for any and all rape cases should not call for leniency. The level of severity of a sentence should not depend on whether the rapist is white, male, educated, athletic, successful, or intoxicated at the time the crime was committed.
My hope is that the viral and widely followed Brock Turner case can be an example of the injustice, letdown, and disservice that most victims experience with sexual assault cases and the minimal or nonexistent sentencing of their assailants. I sincerely wish that judges and others involved in the judicial system look toward this case as an example of what not to do, although it already happens too often.
Judge Persky has now been removed from a new separate sexual assault case at the prosecution's request. The prosecution involved in the case stated that they "lack confidence that Judge Persky can fairly participate in this upcoming hearing."
Over one million people have signed the petition to remove Judge Aaron Pesky from the bench for his decision in the Stanford rape case. To sign the petition, click here.
