Public Outrage At Judge In Stanford Rape Case

Former Stanford student Brock Turner was found guilty last week of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in county jail—far less than the six-year sentence prosecutors asked for, or the 14-year maximum penalty for his crimes. Persky said a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner. Public outrage at what many considered a too lenient sentence followed, and now an online petition to have the judge removed from office has more than 100,000 signatures. “The judge bent over backwards in order to make an exception,” said Stanford law professor Michele Landis Dauber. “[A]nd the message to women and students is, ‘you’re on your own,’ and the message to potential perpetrators is, ‘I’ve got your back.’” Dauber said she intends to launch a formal campaign to have Persky removed.