Dear Mr. Turner,

On the day that you found out that your son had sexually assaulted a woman what happened in your brain? Most people understand that you must look out for your family, but after hearing your reasoning behind why you are standing up for your son, why have you not yet seen the error in your ways? When you say things like,

"He will never be his happy go lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile.”

Do you think that the woman whom he assaulted will ever be the same? There is only one group in this situation whose life has been affected by the actions of your son, that is the life of the victim and her family.

What about when you say things like,

“These verdicts have broken and shattered him and our family in so many ways. His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life."

Did you ever stop to think that the life of the victim would ever be the same? Your son raped her. Do you understand what that means? This girl went out that night hoping to have fun with her sister. She was hoping to enjoy herself. Instead she woke up hours later in a hospital only to find out that your child, the one whom you think is so perfect and so innocent defiled her.

Where is your head at, Mr. Turner? Where? How could you stand by and ask that your son be punished lightly for this heinous crime? His actions deserved the maximum sentence. Just because he was a white, upper class, athletic boy does not give him a place above all other criminals. Why do you not see this? Why have you not stepped out of your own shoes and gotten into the shoes of others. Those 20 minutes of action hurt that young girl and her family. Your son made them all feel insecure. They will always be brought down by the fact that you hurt her. This was their daughter, their sister, their friend, and their loved one. Your son hurt all of them. He did this during that 20 minute time frame that you so casually mentioned.

Ever since hearing about this story I have been unable to comprehend what has gone through your head. Why would you stand up for a man who would do such horrible things to a woman? I would ask if the father is like the son, but a statement like that makes my stomach cringe. I have always been told that our parents raise us to be better versions of themselves. If this is true, then all of my questions are answered. If not, then please Mr. Turner, tell me what was going through your head when you decided to stand up for that disgusting human being that you call a son.

Sincerely,

Someone who doesn’t understand