Persky, who’s a Stanford graduate, was later removed from a new and unrelated sexual assault case; last week, his request to be reassigned to civil court was granted. On Friday, he walked out wearing a blue button-down shirt and dark trousers.
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Turner was convicted in March of three counts of sexual assault after being caught raping an intoxicated and unconscious 22-year-old woman behind a dumpster at a fraternity house.
Turner was convicted of assaulting the young woman near a rubbish bin after they drank heavily at a fraternity party at Stanford University in January a year ago. Two passers-by stopped when they saw Turner grinding against her unconscious body; he ran and they chased after him, pinning him to the ground until police showed up.
The brevity of Turner’s sentence triggered outrage against the judge and controversy over how the justice system treats sexual assault survivors.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen released this statement, “If we had our way, Brock Turner would be in state prison serving a six year sentence, not going home”.
He was facing up to 14 years in prison. While the woman said that she believes Turner deserved a harsher sentence she did not think he should be so vilified by the media. “You and me. You are the cause, I am the effect”.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith spoke after Turner was released.
Brock Turner has left jail with a parting gift of sorts – a large packet of hate mail, given to him today by authorities in California’s Santa Clara County. Brown hasn’t said whether he will sign it.
Specifically, Turner was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman; sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object; and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.
“When we broaden those criminal definitions, it can broaden the swath of persons that can be criminalized”, Emily Austin, the director of advocacy for the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which declined to take a position on the bills, told the Associated Press.
Goodman also called Persky “a fair and very competent jurist”.
All the same, he has said he will voluntarily cease hearing criminal cases.
Even one of the judge’s harshest critics, Stanford professor and recall leader Michele Dauber, who maintains Turner should have served time in prison, said lifetime registration is too long in his case. “Are you ready to give Judge Persky the early release that he deserves?”
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The furor grew after letters surfaced that Turner’s family and friends wrote urging the judge to be lenient. He has launched a campaign website soliciting campaign donations to help retain his seat. Inmates in California often serve only partial sentences, based on a variety of factors including behavior. Now that Turner is out of prison, he will have to register as a sex offender-perhaps for the rest of his life. Turner and the woman had attended the same party that night, and their blood-alcohol levels were two to three times the legal limit.
