It only took two days of deliberation. The 12-member jury made up of mostly men reached a swift consensus: 20-year-old Brock Turner was guilty on all three counts of sexual assault.
But what happened next simply did not match up with this unanimous decision. The judge handed down a paltry six month sentence to Mr Turner, convicted of raping an unconscious young woman beside a dumpster. And with a release date scheduled for September 2, he will only serve three months in a county jail. He had been facing up to 14 years.
An anonymous male juror, furious at the light sentencing handed down to Mr Turner, has penned a blistering public letter to Judge Aaron Persky, revealing some of the goings-on behind the closed doors of the jury room. He is the first of the 12 jurors to speak out about the trial.
“The predominantly male jury reached consensus of guilt on all three counts within two days of deliberation. In light of that quick and decisive finding, I was absolutely shocked and appalled when I heard on June 2 about the minimal sentence you announced that Mr. Turner would serve,” the self-described ‘Concerned Juror’ wrote in the letter obtained by Palo Alto Weekly.
#BrockTurner juror to Judge Aaron Persky: ‘Shame on you.’ https://t.co/QS3y001NL6 pic.twitter.com/3ujf2wQih7
— Palo Alto Weekly (@paloaltoweekly) June 14, 2016
Top Comments
Obviously having friends in high places , including a former federal prosecutor , influenced the Judge's priorities in sentencing
Is there a mechanism for appealing against the sentence by the prosecutor?
Appears the Judge has abused and disregarded Rule Of Law, I hope there is an investigation. He appears to be subjective in imposing sentence, that's totally breaking the rules.
There was talk of the judge being "recalled" but I'm not sure exactly what that means.
I looked it up - I think it means as he was voted in, he can be removed from his position if certain conditions are met.