Brock Turner, a former Stanford University student, and his family stood before the Santa Clara County Court in early June and begged for leniency for his sentencing after he was found guilty of three felony count of sexual assault. His mother, Carleen, wrote a letter full of anecdotes which painted her son as a respectful, polite, and shy young adult with a kind heart. She characterizes him as humble before tugging on reader's heartstrings by giving them insight on her home life; how her children are drowning in student debt, and how she and her husband have accumulated an enormous debt themselves with the trial. The mom of three can't even decorate their house without being reminded that they will never be as happy as they were in the photos that go up on the walls. Mrs. Turner wakes up every morning and questions, "Why him? Why did this happen to her son?" Due to this tragedy, her son will now have to register as a sex offender, he will not graduate from Stanford, and he will never be able to swim in the Olympics.
Dan Turner, Brock's father, also wrote a letter. This one detailed his son's easygoing personality and his accepting and non-judgmental mannerisms. Mr. Turner, then goes on to blame Brock's actions on alcohol, stress, partying, and the pressure to fit in. Mr. Turner pleas for the judge to consider leniency because his son can no longer enjoy steak like he used to. "That [jail time] is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life," his father claims, as he explains that now Brock will never have the life that he once dreamed of. He claims the best solution is to let him back into the world so he can give back in a "positive way."
Family friends started donating fund and support group pages have been made. Turner's ex-girlfriend even wrote a letter on his behalf. Clearly, the Turner family is struggling with the verdict and the consequence that come after it. It almost makes people forget that Brock Turner isn't the victim. In fact, the only person who isn't pulling their "victim card" in this situation is the victim herself.
The victim, a now 23-year-old woman who has chosen to remain anonymous, fights for her rights with her riveting and hard-hitting letter to the judge, in which she speaks to her attacker directly. Instead of giving a list of her accomplishments and describing herself with synonyms that make her look like a well-rounded person, she walks the reader through the night she woke up in a hospital bed with no memory, eventually realizing that she was a victim of sexual assault.
Although she has been dragged through madness in the last year, with lawyers attacking her character and manipulating her story with questions that were simply thrown in her direction to discredit her and keep her off her game, she isn't hostile towards her attacker. In fact, what she seems to want more than justice for herself, is for Turner to acknowledge and accept his wrongdoings so they can both move on from the situation.
The victim herself seems to be a beacon of light in what would be to most a futile situation. She should be praised not only for finding the courage to speak out against the person who attacked her, but for seeking the opportunity to grow from this horrific event. Her letter may change the face of rape culture by not only fighting for herself, but advocating for all girls and encouraging them that they are valued, respected, and important.
Blame it on promiscuity, blame it on alcohol, but the only thing that Turner won't do is take responsibility for his lack of judgement and self-control on the night of January 17, 2015. That is what is keeping him trapped and will force him to face the consequences of his actions, and there won't be anything to blame then but himself.
