On the morning of January 18, 2015, Stanford student Brock Allen Turner was arrested after being found behind a dumpster outside of a frat party, sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. In March, Turner was found guilty of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person, and sexual penetration of an unconscious person. Although he faced a possible penalty of 14 years in state prison, on Thursday, June 2, Turner was sentenced to just six months in county jail and probation. The judge’s reasoning behind the light sentencing? “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.”
There are so many things wrong with the way this series of events panned out, it’s hard to know where to begin. The first thought that comes to mind is wondering whether Judge Aaron Persky considered the “severe impact” Turner’s actions had on his victim. She did nothing wrong, yet she has to live with the consequences of what he did to her. In the letter she read aloud, addressing Turner directly on the day of his sentencing, she explains how she woke up the next morning in the hospital, unaware of anything that had happened to her. She describes the days, weeks and months that followed-- days, weeks and months that consisted of fear and self-hate among other things. In her statement she said, “My independence, natural joy, gentleness, and steady lifestyle I had been enjoying became distorted beyond recognition. I became closed off, angry, self-deprecating, tired, irritable, empty.”
This is the impact Turner had on her, and yet the judge refused to give him the punishment he deserved because he thought he would not do well in state prison. Call me crazy, but last I knew, prison was supposed to have a severe impact on those sent there. We live in a country and society where people are punished for their crimes, or at least that’s what I thought. What this case tells me is that this judge would rather protect a rapist than future rape victims -- notice how he says he does not think he will be a danger to others. On what basis is he making this assumption? This man raped a woman. He stripped her of ,not only her clothes, but her dignity, and has shown little remorse in the process. By giving Turner such a light sentencing, a sentencing which could turn into just three months with good behavior, Judge Persky is sending the message to not only Turner, but to countless other future rapists, that rape isn’t a serious offense. This is just wrong.
It doesn’t matter that Turner is 20. It doesn’t matter that he was once a celebrated All-American swimmer. It doesn’t matter that it happened after a party where alcohol was consumed. As his victim states in her letter, “Alcohol is not an excuse. Is it 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. . . Regretting drinking is not the same as regretting sexual assault. We were both drunk, the difference is, I did not take off your pants and underwear, touch you inappropriately, and run away. That’s the difference.” The point is, rape is rape, no matter what the circumstances.
The amount of sexual assaults that happen on college campuses is appalling. Reading this story, you should be outraged. It should make you angry and make you want to help make a change, and the victim of this disgusting breach of justice agrees: “Even if the sentence is light, hopefully this will wake people up. I want the judge to know that he ignited a tiny fire. If anything, this is a reason for all of us to speak even louder.”
If you don’t see something wrong here, you’re part of the problem. If you refuse to recognize the way society perpetrates rape culture, you’re part of the problem. Sexual assault on college campuses, sexual assault while under the influence of alcohol, sexual assault by a 20-year-old Stanford student is still just that: sexual assault.
