Dear Judge Aaron Persky,
You have proven that rape culture is real and that it is prominent in our society today. You have shown that rape is seen as both prevalent and normalized. You have once again silenced victims across the nation who continue to linger in fear they will be blamed. And that is exactly what you did, you victim blamed. You have put in the spotlight the issues that exist within our judicial system. You let a man walk off with a slap on the wrist for the crime that he committed, and why? Because he is white? Because he was an elite Stanford swimmer? Because he was an Olympic hopeful?
Well sir, he took away the dignity and changed the life of a girl who had absolutely no say. He raped her while she remained there unconscious, completely unaware of the fact that when she woke up, she would never be able to go to sleep the same again. “20 minutes of action” as Mr. Turner so described his son’s actions, took away the life of an innocent girl, and that deserves its rightful punishment. There is no right to blame ‘party culture’ for his actions. Getting drunk causes bad judgment, and can lead to stupid decisions, but never does it justify rape. Brock Turner to this day refuses to acknowledge his actions. He refuses to admit to the assault and stop blaming his intoxication. In his letter, Turner calls for pity on himself. Pity on the fact that he is restless, pity on the fact that newspapers are writing about him, and this is what should strike you as the most disturbing. His life SHOULD be changed forever because his actions were unspeakable and horrific.
While I think it is important to stress the light sentencing that Turner is facing, I want to instead focus on one statement in particular. Turner stated, “One needs to recognize the influence that peer pressure and the attitude of having to fit in can have on someone. One decision has the potential to change your entire life.” How is anyone supposed to feel safe after hearing a statement such as this? It is not okay that either man or woman fears their walk home because rape is so prominent in our day-to-day lives. Do not tell me that ‘peer pressure’ and ‘fitting in’ are justifiable reasons for such actions. Because if we start allowing society to think that, then we simply continue to marginalize the countless victims that have been pushed aside as insignificant.
So Judge Persky, I apologize that you think “a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him,” but as a college student I see men like Brock Turner as a danger. Because now that you have ignored the pleas of the victim, he gets to walk free in six months, leaving students like me fearful of the fact that we don’t deserve full protection of the law, fearful of the fact that if I were in the place of the victim, I would not be taken seriously in any courtroom. It’s a scary reality that you have once again awakened college students like me too, one that needs to end immediately. Rape is never the victim’s fault, and it is time our judicial system starts acknowledging their voices.
Sincerely,
An outraged and scared college student
