Mahum Kudia

Hillesland

AP English - Navy

4 September 2016

Editorial

Unjust Justice System?

Even now, more than ever, Americans feel that the justice system is flawed. How else can

a man, who was released just two days ago on Friday, September 2, convicted of the rape of an

unconscious girl--with two witnesses that place him at the scene, receive a sentence of 6

months--which is then halved to 3 months for good behavior, according to CNN. This

contradicts the fact that the minimum sentence for this type of crime is at least 6 years, as well as

the American ideals of equality. Now, one might wonder how this inherent problem in our

justice system came to be, and how it has been a part of our society for centuries.

To derive the answer to that question, we must first thoroughly inspect the crime itself.

According to the victims statement, a Stanford Freshman raped her while she lay unconscious

behind a dumpster. This man, Brock Turner, would have continued to do so if it werent for the

two Swedish graduates who found him assaulting an unconscious, naked woman. Turner

immediately began to run, trying to flee the scene, but was tackled by the two men, who then

contacted the authorities. The victim was then subjected to invasive procedures in the hospital to

find proof of her assault. She herself learned the graphic details of her assault in a news story.

The article then proceeded to tell its readers about Turners achievements as a star swimmer at

Stanford, to which the victim responds, I think the end is where you list your extra-curriculars
to cancel out all the sickening things thatve happened. Stating facts about the rapists swim

times minimizes the seriousness of his crime and shows a clear bias in media coverage--that

Turners extra-curricular achievements are way more important than the fact that he sexually

assaulted an unconscious woman and had the audacity to say that she liked it.

Brock Turner was found guilty of three felonies, of which, according to the Washington

Post, the average sentence is 11 years in prison, and can be up to 20 years. In the case of Brock

Turner, prosecutors recommended 6 years in prison according to CNN. However, what he got

was outrageous; it says in a Washington Post Article, Judge Aaron Persky leveled a

punishment that ignited fury nationwide: Six months in the county jail, followed by three years

probation. The penalty sharply deviated from the sentencing norm. Understandably, Americans

were furious, and demanded an explanation. Democracy Now says that Judge Persky was

concerned a prison sentence would have a "severe impact" on Brock Allen Turner. In addition,

Turners father fueled the outrage by complaining his sons life had been ruined, as it says in the

Washington Post His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to

achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life. It

seems as if both the Judge and Turners father failed to realize the severe impact Turners actions

had on the victim--an impact that she will feel her entire life. They failed to see that the victims

life was ruined as well. Maybe they believed that it was her fault Turner raped her, and that she

deserved it for seducing him--because getting raped is the victims fault. Obviously it wasnt,

but clearly, there is a rape culture present in our society, which victimizes the assaulter and

criminalizes the victim. The sentencing of Brock Turner leads to an obvious question: Why was

he let off so easy?

 Who we are as a society, as a people, and what our values are has everything to do with

it. In fact, it is the result of centuries of white male supremacy, in which basic rights such as

freedom and equality excluded all demographics except white males. This is the reason that led

to Turners unusually light sentence. Brock Turner, is a white, affluent, privileged male in

society--a star swimmer at Stanford with plans to compete in the Olympics. If he was anyone

else, say, someone who wasnt white, less important in society, and wasnt from a rich and

privileged background, would his sentence be the same? Our societys underlying belief in white

supremacy is what leads to these decisions. It might not even be a conscious belief--its just

ingrained into American society. This belief of supremacy is found also in our founding

documents, with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Originally, the rights

mentioned in the documents applied only to white males, specifically rich white males, and

excluded women, blacks, and Native Americans. These beliefs have been diluted by time and

through the actions and protests of those who are excluded from them. However, they are still

very much present in todays society.

Unfortunately, some Americans believe that these statements hold no validity, because

white supremacy simply doesnt exist. By definition, white supremacy is the belief that white

people are superior to everyone else and should therefore dominate society. In laymens terms,

this essentially means that white people are above everyone and everything. Legally speaking,

this is not true, because our founding documents state that everyone is equal. When looking at it

practically however, thats not always the case. As humans, we all have the right to interpret and

believe things however we wish--just because someone said that everyone is created equal, that

doesnt necessarily mean that everyone believes that. Because of who they are, people believe
that they are entitled to certain things, and this belief is what leads to superiority complexes,

which in turn becomes supremacy. To them, its not even considered supremacy, its just what

they believe theyre entitled to. This thought process is what leads to people denying the

existence of white supremacy today. The law gave, and continues to give men the power to

deprive women of their liberty and their right to equal and just treatment. The sentencing of

Brock Turner was lightened only because Judge Persky, who is also a white male, believed that

punishing Turner according to his crime would have too much of a negative impact on his life.

Due to his belief, Persky took away the victims right to justice. To him, Turners feelings were

of more importance than judging the case equitably. This same law has allowed Turners already

light sentence to be halved, resulting in his 3 month early release, this past Friday.

Nowadays, Americans have become much more aware of the special treatment that is

given to certain people because of their social class, race, and gender. Many Americans no

longer stand for this special treatment, and have begun protesting. This is because they believe

that all men and women are created equal, and deserve to be treated as such--its about time that

the justice system and the media finally catch on.

 Works Cited

"Brock Turner Released after 3 Months in Jail." CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 06 Sept.

2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/02/us/brock-turner-release-jail/

Stanford rape case: Read the impact statement of Brock Turner's victim. The Independent.

Independent Digital News and Media. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stanford-rape-case-read-the-impact-statement

-of-brock-turners-victim-a7222371.html

"What Makes the Stanford Sex Offenders Six Month Jail Sentence so Unusual." Washington

Post. The Washington Post. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/06/what-makes-the-stanford-se

x-offenders-six-month-jail-sentence-so-unusual/