Here Is The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read Aloud To Her Attacker
Katie Baker, BuzzFeed, June 3, 2016
One night in January 2015, two Stanford University graduate students biking across campus spotted a freshman thrusting his body on top of an unconscious, half-naked woman behind a dumpster. This March, a California jury found the former student, 20-year-old Brock Allen Turner, guilty of three counts of sexual assault. Turner faced a maximum of 14 years in state prison. On Thursday, he was sentenced to six months in county jail and probation. The judge said he feared a longer sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner, a champion swimmer who once aspired to compete in the Olympics — a point repeatedly brought up during the trial.
On Thursday, Turner’s victim addressed him directly, detailing the severe impact his actions had on her — from the night she learned she had been assaulted by a stranger while unconscious, to the grueling trial during which Turner’s attorneys argued that she had eagerly consented.
The woman, now 23, told BuzzFeed News she was disappointed with the “gentle” sentence and angry that Turner still denied sexually assaulting her.
“Even if the sentence is light, hopefully this will wake people up,” she said. “I want the judge to know that he ignited a tiny fire. If anything, this is a reason for all of us to speak even louder.”
She provided her statement, printed in full below, to BuzzFeed News.
Other articles related to anarchist perspectives on transformative justice and dismantling rape culture:
Megan Petrucelli: Beyond Absolutes – Justice for All
Kristian Williams: A Look at Feminist Forms of Justice That Don’t Involve the Police
Hillary Lazar: Changing the Conversation – The Need for an Anarchist Lens on Campus Sexual Assault
