(This is part of the split-up post, Should Rapists Edit Scholarly Journals?)
But maybe it’s everywhere. I’ve always had contempt for appellate judges as a class because of how they betray the Constitution without the slightest qualm (there are big individual exceptions, of course) but trial judges might be even worse. My wife tells me of the 2016 Stanford student rapist. In 2019 the New York Times wrote in You Know Emily Doe’s Story. Now Learn Her Name:
In 2016, Ms. Miller’s case made headlines after BuzzFeed published the statement she read at the sentencing hearing for Brock Turner, the Stanford student convicted of the assault.
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Mr. Turner, then 20, was found guilty of three counts of felony sexual assault, for which the maximum sentence was 14 years. But the presiding judge, Aaron Persky, sentenced Mr. Turner to six months in county jail, of which he served three. Judge Persky’s ruling drew criticism from those who viewed it as too lenient, and he was recalled by voters in 2018.
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“I just remember being in my kitchen and reading this incredible, riveting piece of work,” Andrea Schulz, the editor in chief of Viking, the book’s publisher, said about reading the victim impact statement in the summer of 2016. Soon after, Philippa Brophy, a literary agent who represents Ms. Miller, contacted Ms. Schulz to say her client was interested in writing a book.
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In addition to the judge’s recall, the first time California voters took such an action in more than 80 years, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill imposing mandatory minimum sentences in sexual assault cases. Ms. Miller’s statement was read aloud on CNN and on the floor of the House of Representatives.
The district attorney’s press release said,
After midnight, on January 18, 2015, Turner was seen by two witnesses sexually assaulting the unconscious victim, who was laying on the ground behind a dumpster on Stanford campus. When they called out, Turner ran away. The two tackled him and held him until police officers arrived. Evidence showed that the victim was so heavily intoxicated that she did not regain consciousness until hours later.
The New York Times had written earlier, in
Light Sentence for Brock Turner in Stanford Rape Case Draws Outrage,
…the defendant was sentenced to a mere six months in jail and his father complained that his son’s life had been ruined for “20 minutes of action” fueled by alcohol and promiscuity.
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According to the judge: “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.”
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The unidentified 23-year-old victim, who was not a student of the university in Palo Alto, Calif., was attacked while visiting the campus, where she attended a fraternity party. In the statement, she spoke of drinking at the party, but not remembering the assault in January 2015.
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She said she was told she had been found behind a Dumpster, and learned from news reports that witnesses had discovered her attacker lying on top of her unconscious, partly clothed body. The witnesses intervened and held the attacker for the police.
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The judge, identified by The Guardian as a Stanford alumnus, handed Mr. Turner, a champion swimmer, far less than the maximum 14 years after he was convicted, pointing out that he had no “significant” prior offenses, he had been affected by the intense media coverage, and “there is less moral culpability attached to the defendant, who is … intoxicated,” The Guardian said.The victim said Mr. Turner had admitted drinking, but still had not acknowledged any fault in the attack, insisting the episode had been consensual.
Brock Turner’s offender statement is also of interest. He blamed liquor for him raping the girl.
It’s noteworthy that Stanford comes up twice in this blogpost, just like the University of Pennsyvlania. These elite universities are pretty disgusting places, aren’t they? See below for how casually people in Palo Alto take child sodomy rape, an attitude similar to that of how their judges react to rape of young women. They don’t think sexual acts are very significant, I suppose, and they highly respect money and education.