A few months ago, the country was seething from the incredibly light sentence given to former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner after being charged with sexual assault. He faced up to 14 years yet was only sentenced to six months in jail. He may only have to serve three months of that for “good behavior.” Even a poignant and scathing letter written by the survivor seemed to have no effect on the decision.
A similar case that is sparking similar controversy hit social media this past week. Wilkerson told an inebriated young woman that he would help her home safely, yet instead brought her back to her home and sexually assaulted her when she was only semi-conscious. He received no prison time.
While both young men are white, affluent, and committed similar crimes, there is one significant difference in their court cases: Wilkerson owned up to his mistake. Whether he was truly sorry, we may never know, but he apologized. He took responsibility for his actions, which is more than Turner did. Turner’s father even had the audacity to say that his son’s life should be ruined based on “20 minutes of action.” (CNN)
I don’t necessarily agree with the sentencing of Wilkerson in that he received no jail time, but I agree that a longer sentence is more likely to result in rehabilitation. Turner, on the other hand, has requested additional security in jail because he was being harassed. There has been no reply from his lawyer about this request. Having him deal with three to six months of prison harassment doesn't even scratch the surface of the mental turmoil that his victim will face.Despite all this, I'm still frustrated by our legal system displaying favoritism towards these affluent young men. Very few rapists ever spend a day in prison, and Wilkerson will be one of them. This just perpetuates rape culture and makes other perpetrators think that they can get away with behavior like this.
It's situations like these that are the reason why women don't report rape, why women always travel in packs, and why college women are buying mace while their male counterparts buy condoms.
