Remember Brock Turner? Yeah, I know it may be difficult to remember him after the 3 long months he's been in prison - sorry, county jail - but let's try to refresh your memory on what exactly landed him in the public eye.
Brock Turner raped an unconscious woman. A jury found him guilty on three counts of felony sexual assault. The judge sentenced him to only six months in county jail, where he eventually was released after three months for "good behavior". There's so much more that I could say about this, but let's focus on one of the most infuriating aspects of this entire case: the fact that Brock Turner, a convicted rapist, only spent three months in county jail. The prosecutors recommended six years of the maximum 14 Brock could have received. Must be nice.
So, while we bang our heads against the wall in anger of the rape culture of America, let's relive a few cases of people who served longer sentences than Brock Turner - since, after all, rape means nothing if you're a wealthy student-athlete, right? These criminals were far less disturbing than Brock's, yet, their sentences were longer than his.
1. Martha Stewart
In 2004, everyone's favorite cook and home decor extraordinaire, was indicted on felony charges of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding and making false statements and sentenced to five months in prison.
Yep, you read that correctly. Martha spent two months longer behind bars than Brock Turner because, you know, insider trading is way worse than the rape of an unconscious woman.
Not to mention, Brock's dad was so worried about what jail would do to his son, but after knowing about Martha's sentence, we can all remind him that she bounced back to her multi-million dollar franchise quite well.
2. Lil Wayne
When rapper Lil Wayne was sent to prison, it caused an uproar amongst fans throughout the country, spurring protests of fans declaring "Free Weezy". Lil Wayne was found to be in possession of a handgun that he was not registered to, and eventually plead guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and sentenced to one year behind bars. Though he only served eight months of his total sentence, he claims his time spent in incarceration helped to make him a better person.
Since Lil Wayne did spent more than double the amount of time that Brock Turner did behind bars, maybe if Brock ever finds himself in trouble again, he can take points from this famous rapper?
3. Robert Downey, Jr.
In 1996, Robert Downey, Jr. was sentenced to three years in prison for a violation of his probation from an earlier drug and weapon possession conviction. Like most others, he was released for good behavior and ultimately only served one year of his three year sentence.
Still, Robert's prison sentence is proof of an unequal justice system. If he can be sentenced to three years for violating probation, and Brock Turner sentenced to only six months for rape, then something just isn't right.
4. Tim Allen
In 1978, beloved family actor, Tim Allen, was arrested for possession of more than a pound of cocaine. Ultimately, he spent two years in prison for his drug crimes.
Ironically, under Michigan's law, Tim could have been sentenced to a life sentence, but instead, exchanged time for information, which lessened his sentence. It's interesting to note that in some places, people can be sentenced to life for a drug crime, but in other places, only six months for a violent sex crime.
5. 50 Cent
This is one person who's sentence was the same length as Brock Turner's: six months. After all, their crimes were basically the same, right?
In 1994, 50 cent was sentenced to six months in prison after selling cocaine to an undercover police officer. Though, unlike Brock, he actually served his entire six months in prison, therefore, he ultimately served more jail time than him.
