On January 18, 2015, Brock Turner, an athlete at Stanford University, raped a 22-year-old woman behind a dumpster. A year later, when he was finally found guilty, he received a jail sentence of six months, three if he had good behavior.
On June 23, 2013, Cory Batey, an athlete at Vanderbilt University, raped a 21-year-old woman in her college dorm. Three years later, when he was finally found guilty, he received a jail sentence of 15 years, with no parole.
The reasoning, according to the judge on Turner's case, for his short sentence was because, "a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him." Does that mean that a prison sentence wouldn't have the same severe impact on Batey? And for what reason? Would it have had the same severe impact on Batey if he were white?
I get it. Different judge; different state; different sentence; different race. Right?
It shouldn't be right.
There is obviously a problem with our justice system if the punishment for rape simply depends on the state you live in and your race. According to NY Daily News, black men are given prison sentences 20% longer than white men for the same exact crime.
The justice system should not be worrying about the severe impact that prison will have on these two rapists. The justice system should be worried about the severe impact that rape had, and will have, on the victims of the two rapists.
I am not arguing that Corey Batey should be given a shorter sentence just because Brock Turner did. I am arguing that Brock Turner should receive a longer, more comparable sentence for the same exact crime that he committed as Corey Batey. They both raped women; they both deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But that's not the case is it? Because there is a race issue in the United States and people are too wrapped up in their white privilege, my own white privilege, to admit it, to even pay attention to it.
I have never, and hope to never, experience what these two victims had to go through. But on top of rape being an incredibly traumatizing experience, I would hate to have uncertainty regarding the justice I might or might not receive if it were to happen to me. That is what the justice system should be concerning themselves with.
The justice system should not be concerned with whether the rapist was black or white. They should be concerned with whether or not the victims will be able to get closure and be able to move on as a result of the rapist's sentencing.
It is simply not fair that Batey's victim is being taken more seriously than Turner's victim. After all, rape is rape and a person's race should not determine the extent of their punishment.
