Brock Allen Turner has become a household name for the "monster behind the dumpster", the face of an epidemic and the poster boy for white privilege.
The nation was rocked by the story of the Stanford University rape. A 22-year-old woman was found unconscious behind a dumpster with Stanford freshman Brock Turner thrusting on top of her unresponsive body, before two good samaritans chased him off of the victim.
The victim woke up in the hospital hours later with absolutely no recollection of her attack and learned about the events of the night through news reports. Turner and the victim had come into contact at a frat party where they had both been drinking. In fact, many others at the party had been drinking and yet Turner was the only one who raped an unconscious woman. This is especially interesting since according to Turner, alcohol was the sole reason he found himself in this mess of a rape investigation. In a statement to Judge Aaron Persky, Turner writes, “I wish I had the ability to go back in time and never pick up a drink that night, let alone interact with [redacted].”
It is obvious Turner does not see himself as the perpetrator he is, which in most cases is seen as, well, bad. However Judge Persky didn’t perceive his complete lack of responsibility as concerning and stated, “I take him at his word that subjectively that’s his version of his events,” Persky said. “I’m not convinced that his lack of complete acquiescence to the verdict should count against him.”
Apparently, three felony convictions of sexual assault aren’t enough to make Turner realize he is, in fact, a rapist. If this weren’t enough, Turner also mentions that he wouldn’t have raped if he hadn’t interacted with the victim.
However, in her letter to the court, the victim outright says that if she hadn’t decided to go to the party that night, undoubtably another woman would’ve been in her unfortunate position. So where did Brock Turner get this sort of mentality? Look no further than his own father! In a statement to the same judge Brock’s father said his six-month sentence was “a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.” Well, don’t worry Mr. Turner, your son would’ve raped that woman for longer if it hadn't been for those two people who had to chase him off of her.
Many are questioning whether or not Turner would have received the same light sentencing if he were of a different race, and looking at the trial of Cory Batey, we can see that there is a significant difference in how the American justice system treats black and white offenders. Corey Batey was a football player at Vanderbilt University when he raped an unconscious woman and received a 15-25 year sentence. Turner’s sentencing for the same crime is a mere fraction of Batey’s sentence, and thousands believe that Judge Aaron Persky who handed down such a light punishment should be removed from his position. You can sign the petition to have Judge Perksy removed here.
