Former Stanford State University student Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, sparking an outcry across the United States, has been released from prison.
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The one-time Olympic hopeful swimmer walked out the main entrance of the Santa Clara County jail shortly after 6 a.m. PDT.
They told police that as they held him, Turner said, “Dude, let’s talk about this”.
He should be in prison right now, the sheriff said. The moving explanation of her ordeal, which was reprinted and read aloud by television reporters, drew more attention to the case. Among the incidents they cite is the case of college football player Ikaika Lukas Gunderson in the sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend, a sentencing which Persky delayed for a year.
“Instead of upholding fairness, accountability and equal justice, Judge Persky chose to excuse Brock Turner of sexual violence, inevitably undermining trust in the legal system at large, diminishing reporting of assaults and making the Stanford community a more unsafe place for all”, echoed Stephanie Pham, a rising Stanford junior and co-founder of the university’s Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention.
Heiskala was part of a demonstration organized by leaders of the campaign to recall the judge who sentenced Turner.
Turner’s victim, who remains unnamed, said in a statement at the time the Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner that it was a “soft time-out, a mockery of the seriousness of his assaults, an insult to me and all women”.
Persky ordered the six-month sentence for Brock Turner, a Dayton, Ohio, resident who had been attending Stanford on a swimming scholarship. He served a mere three months for assault with intent to commit rape, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person. Brock Turner released from Santa Clara Co.
Persky followed the probation department’s recommendation of probation and county jail time, based on Turner’s lack of criminal history, his show of “sincere remorse” and the fact that alcohol was involved, impairing his judgment.
Turner’s laughable prison sentence set off a wave of similar sentences for other convicted rapists.
Turner’s trial lawyer indicated he would.
The former swimmer’s sentence prompted an outcry, with critics saying the judge had been overly lenient and sex assaults on U.S. campuses were not being treated seriously enough. What began as a grass-roots effort against sexual assault and privilege has evolved into a focused campaign to recall the jurist, with a team of veteran political consultants and supporters at all levels of government. In order to recall Persky in the November 2017 election, 70,000 handwritten signatures are required.
“Judge Persky is biased”, he said.
All the same, he has said he will voluntarily cease hearing criminal cases.
The case threw a spotlight on the problem of rape and sexual assault on U.S. college campuses, amid criticism that handling of these cases is often lax and has given rise to a climate of impunity.
Brock Turner’s parents are reportedly concerned for their son’s safety, going so far as to reach out to their local police department and ask for help in dealing with protesters and others who could harm the convicted rapist. Jerry Brown (D) after it was approved by the state Senate and Assembly with overwhelming support.
“As the Sheriff of Santa Clara County and a mother I believe that the interests of justice are best served by ensuring that sexual predators are sent to prison as punishment for their crime”, she wrote. Turner, then 19, was arrested after two students saw him outside a fraternity house on top of an unconscious woman.
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“I do think overwhelmingly it will be used with what we all agree will be nonviolent offenders”, Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson said. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden.
