Brock Turner rapes a woman.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentences Turner to six months in prison.
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Dan Turner, father of the rapist, claims that a long sentence would’ve been “a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 years of life”.
Rape.
Six months.
20 minutes of action.
There is an immense problem when a man who rapes an unconscious woman receives, basically, a slap on the wrist for his actions; a greater problem when the six months can even be shortened with good behavior, and a horrific problem when the average prison time for rape is eight to nine years, or as Sex Offender Attorney states, “...under certain circumstances a rape conviction may result in a life sentence”.
And yet, Brock Turner will sit in prison for only six months, while a young woman now sees her body and is terrified by it. There is no logical reason from my standpoint of this decision, and its effects.
Aaron Persky shows that students, especially women in this case, are now on their own. No matter what you do or don’t do, you are completely on your own.
And it shouldn’t be like this.
The victim of this shouldn’t have to read article after article that describes Brock Turner, not as the rapist he is, but as a ‘former Stanford swimmer’.
Of course, some people have and will question the victim:
Why were you drinking so much?
Shouldn’t you know your limit?
Maybe you were flirting.
Maybe you shouldn’t have led him on.
Rape is rape, and as the victim explained in her statement directly to Brock Turner (now gone viral with Buzzfeedshowing the entirety of it), “Is [alcohol] a factor? Yes. But alcohol was not the one who stripped me, fingered me, had my head dragging against the ground, with me almost fully naked”. The fact can no longer be avoided that there is something very flawed within our justice system.
A little while before finishing up this article, I spoke with a friend (who I will keep anonymous if they wish it) about this horrible story and mentioned that it was honestly disgusting since this shouldn't be happening in 2016, to which they replied “Rape was rape before, and it is today”.
The sad fact is that it’s true, the Stanford rape victim isn’t the only one who’s story was overshadowed by their rapist’s “budding future” and “promise”. What makes it so disgusting is the fact that this has happened before, and will most likely continue to happen if we don’t recognize and address this injustice to those who’ve been sexually assaulted.
Brock Turner isn’t a man who I will ever want to forget, and I hope he’s remembered as the rapist who only got six months, rather than the Ex-Stanford swimmer.
To Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, it’s sad to say that I’m not shocked that, yet again, the law has made an unjust decision, and if you claim that Brock Turner is not a danger to others, think carefully about your family. Is a rapist really not a danger to society? Think carefully.
To the father of Brock Turner:
I hope you realize that by defending your son, you’re defending a rapist. No matter how much you claim that Brock Turner is “broken” and “shattered”, remember that your son raped an unconscious woman.
To Brock Turner: You know what you did. You should know that you don’t deserve this lenient sentence. You are the problem. We don’t forgive you.
And finally:
To the victim, and others from similar experiences, I hope you gain the support you deserve and continue to live the rest of your lives with bravery, and with the realization that you have so many people behind you.
As the brave victim states in the final paragraph of her letter:
“I hope that by speaking today, you absorbed a small amount of light, a small knowing that you can’t be silenced, a small satisfaction that justice was served, a small assurance that we are getting somewhere, and a big, big knowing that you are important, unquestionably, you are untouchable, you are beautiful, you are to be valued, respected, undeniably, every minute of every day, you are powerful and nobody can take that away from you. To girls everywhere, I am with you. Thank you.”
