We have all heard about the Stanford rape case where Brock Turner was sentence only six months in jail for raping an unconscious woman when he should have been sentenced for the six years for three felony accounts of sexual assault that the prosecutor asked for. Not only was the defendant Brock Turner outrageously under sentenced, but it was because of his privilege: as a man, white and upper class status that he got the sentence he did. What this case demonstrated is that what is supposed to be a fair justice system is actually corrupt and the racism, classism and sexism that we have tried to eliminate are still very prominent issues.
The judge treated Turner as a victim and said, "A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him." What about the impact he had upon his victim? In a letter released by the victim, she describes how she felt learning she was attacked when she didn't even remember it and then having to deal with the humiliation and reliving the event by testifying. Then she was victimized further by both Turner and his attorney claiming she wanted it and that because she couldn't remember the attack than she can't be sure she didn't consent. Turner's athletic accomplishments and the fact that he had never previously committed a crime were also considered and painted the picture that he was a perfect gentleman and had just made a bad decision. His mugshot from that night was also withheld, so the only photos used in the media were his yearbook and Facebook photos which further painted him as the perfect, innocent looking man. Then his father claimed that because of his sentence he lost his athletic scholarship and had to register as a sex offender that six months was enough punishment for "20 minutes of action," not rape. So because he is a man he must be telling the truth and she must have wanted it and so he is the real victim.
Not only is he a man, but he is also wealthy, so he was able to hire his own private investigator and very expensive lawyer. If he had been poor he probably would have had either a court appointed attorney or a lawyer who is not as well versed as an expensive one. He is also white, another privilege.In a similar case, Cory Batey was also a student athletic who was also tried for the rape of an unconscious women and received a 15 to 25 year sentence. The only difference between these two men is Turner is white and Batey is black and yet Turner was only sentenced to six years, how is that fair?
This case only demonstrated the prejudice that exists in our court systems. While I don't disagree that sentencing should be judged by a case by case basis, just because someone is privileged should not determine the severity of sentencing and when there is unquestionable evidence against the person then they should receive the recommended sentence.
