On June 2, 2016, Brock Turner's life "was changed forever" when he was sentenced to six months of probation, and to register as a sex offender for the crime he committed on January 17th, 2015.
His father wrote a long letter explaining why prison is not the right answer for Brock and how probation would be a better solution.
His father's letter said, "His life will never be the one 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." Well Mr. Turner, the young woman that was assaulted by your son sure isn't going to get those 20 minutes back, or the next 20 years of her life either.
This case sets back the clock for sexual assault cases to come in more ways than one:
The sentencing: The judge sentenced only six months because, "a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him." Sexual assault cases in the future now have this to look back on and use as a reference. Meanwhile, President Obama commuted the sentences of people who were in prison for life for drug related offenses. These people will watch people like Brock Turner, who physically harmed another human, come and go while they continue to serve their sentence for a crime that didn't hurt anybody. Makes sense, right?
The photo: Where's the mug shot? Deep, deep, down in the pockets of a privileged white man who was an elite swimmer at an elite school. His mugshot is nowhere to be found on the Internet. Instead, every news outlet is resorted to use his innocent, wide-eye smiling Stanford yearbook photo. So for the future? Rapists aren't to be glamorized by pretty photos. Release the mug shot.
The excuses: The viral letter that the woman read to Turner in court tells us what Turner and his legal team said in the trial. The letter says, "To sit under oath and inform all of us, that yes I wanted it, yes I permitted it, and that you are the true victim attacked by Swedes for reasons unknown to you is appalling, is demented, is selfish, is damaging." While Turner has yet to say much, a Facebook page called "Brock Turner for 2016 Olympics" has been updating since January 2015. One post says, "We'll be voting for Trump in the hopes that he will fix things by giving you a well-deserved pardon."
To the woman who stood up in court to defend herself: You have ignited a fire in everyone to stand up for the disgusting way that sexual assault cases are handled in this country. Your bravery has pushed us all to believe that this fight can be won. We hear you and we stand with you.
To Brock Turner: Another day, another white male like you commits an unspeakable crime and walks free.
