Two weeks ago, Brock Turner, the twenty-one year old who sexually assaulted an unconscious, unresponsive woman, was let out of prison after serving three months of his six month sentence. But first, before I get into the details, allow me to phrase this how the news websites phrase this. “Stanford swimmer accused of sexually assaulting a young woman is released after three months in prison.” (Please note that this is paraphrasing a bunch of different article titles.) There are so many things wrong with that sentence. For one, the media always calls Turner the “Stanford swimmer.” Okay, congrats, he’s really good at swimming and he’s apparently really smart, but guess what: he is banned from swimming for life and he’s been kicked out of Stanford University. He is no longer a Stanford swimmer! And why should that be of any consequence in this subject? He sexually assaulted an unconscious woman; no one wants to know about his swim times!
The next thing wrong with this: the word “accused.” Sure, there’s that whole thing about innocent until proven guilty, but everyone knew he was guilty even before his trial. And news flash—he was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman! He is no longer accused of anything; he is convicted. So please, get that through your heads.
The third thing wrong, and it may not be considered “wrong” more so than withholding information, is the phrase “released after three months in prison.” Sure, everyone knows that being released after only three months is ridiculous, but you have to hear the whole sentence given to him to really feel the outrage. Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in the Santa Clara County Jail. I’ll repeat that: six months. For attempted rape, for “penetrating an unconscious woman with a foreign object,” for wrecking that young woman mentally and emotionally. The reasoning behind the judge’s sentence? He was afraid that a lengthier sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner.
Right. Let’s worry about the man who has a rich daddy and an extremely privileged life. It’s not like the woman he attempted to rape is emotionally damaged or anything. It’s not like she has nightmares or can’t sleep without someone beside her or had to take a break from work. It’s not like her sister feels so guilty that she can’t breathe; it’s not like her family is affected in any way, shape, or form. Oh, wait.
It’s disgusting that our judicial system allowed this light of a sentence to happen. The prosecution asked for a six year sentence; he got six months, and then served three. He violated a person, physically and emotionally. Hopefully, the young woman can move on with her life, but that will always stick with her. And what does he get? The equivalent of a slap on the hand. Let’s not forget the fact that he also refuses to admit to any wrongdoing. He claims that the alcohol impaired his judgement, even though the prosecution pointed out that he took her behind a dumpster to rape her; that is not a random sexual assault attack, that is the methodical thinking of a sexual predator.
But no, let’s pretend that our country isn’t perpetuating rape culture. Let’s pretend that our country isn’t up to our necks in white privilege. Let’s allow Turner to get away with, as his father said, twenty minutes out of the twenty years of his life.
Well, no. I won’t pretend. I’m sure some people look at this case and think, She shouldn’t have been so drunk or They were both too drunk or even, Twenty minutes. Big deal. Well, it is a big deal because while that “twenty minutes” for Turner equated to three months in county prison, that “twenty minutes” for the survivor will stay with her forever.
So, Turner has to register as a sex offender for life. Big deal. You’d be surprised at the people who will simply overlook that. I can almost guarantee you that this will blow over, and he’ll be allowed to live a normal life.

Meanwhile, the victim will be in therapy, will be attempting to put her life back together. She had a boyfriend, but many sexual assault victims end up breaking up with the person they were with when they were sexually assaulted because it’s too painful.
I know I’m kind of rambling, but I’m truly trying to get this point across: Brock Turner got away with attempted rape. It’s the simplest way to put it. Three months is no big deal; he deserves to rot in prison. He deserves to be run over by a car, get salmonella, lose his middle two fingers, anything and everything bad that could possibly happen deserves to happen to him. He was not punished no matter what our country’s judicial system says. That girl has no justice, and it is sickening.
I hope that one day our country can come to a point where we realize that sexual assault is not okay. That it is not the victim’s fault in any way, shape, or form. Why am I so hung up on Brock Turner, you might ask? Because he could’ve been the turning point, and he wasn’t.