Did the justice fit the crime?

In this week's episode of What Grinds My Gears, 20 year-old Brock Turner is sentenced to six months in county jail for committing three felony counts of sexual assault against an unconscious woman.

Can someone explain to me how this guy got so much leniency? Was it because aside from this lapse of rapiness, he was a pretty swell dude?

Why do we still have to keep seeing the explanation to why sexual crimes are a big deal with, "Well, imagine if she was your mom/sister/wife." If someone can't imagine why guys can't just take whatever they want, maybe they should just imagine not being a giant piece of E36 M3.

Rant off.

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EDUCATED GUESS, NOT MY OPINION OF RIGHT OR WRONG: I imagine he had a really skilled defense attorney who successfully portrayed her as an active and willing participant who was doing what she wanted and may have even instigated but inconveniently for the poor guy just happened to pass out in the middle of it. He could then argue the guy was just a good kid who made a bad judgement call.

She was asking for it. She was unconscious.

In this case, you just blame the victim. Check out the Mary Winkler story.

I'm guessing diddy has some money too.

But, I must ask the question, just what do you think is going to happen at a frat party? Whatever it is, it ain't going to be good.

EDIT

BTW, little peckerhead is appealing his conviction. I guess having to register as a sex offender is a little too much for him.

I wasn't on the jury or even in the court room. My only opinion about the case is, if you weren't there and didn't hear the testimony, you can't make an informed decision. Law is about facts, not feelings.

Apparently he was caught at the scene of the crime by a pair of dudes who tackled him and held him until the police arrived. The scene was so terrible one of them cried right there.

Gotta say, if I catch a person committing such an act (I say this as a vet and a father) they'll never be a threat to another woman again.

Hopefully he finds his six month stay in county jail (!) to be reciprocal to his crime.

In reply to Toyman01: The jury recommended something like 8-14 years in prison. The judge knocked it down all on his own. Judge is now being looked at real hard for removal/censuring over his excessive leniency.

The judge is getting re-elected at the moment because he was un-opposed. He will have to be removed through whatever other means are out there.

He's on the college football team, which is the next best thing to being rich for getting judicial leniency to rain down on you like manna from heaven.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Swim team. And almost was headed to the Olympics.

KyAllroad wrote: Gotta say, if I catch a person committing such an act (I say this as a vet and a father) they'll never be a threat to another woman again.

(Tried to find a GIF, but what happens next is NSFW anyway...)

alfadriver wrote: In reply to GameboyRMH: Swim team. And almost was headed to the Olympics.

Plus judge was on similar college sports team. Father sounds like a grade A E36 M3 as well, but wealthy. This is just all kinds of wrong if what is being reported about the case is true, and well nobody has all the facts here.

Now if he gets sent up the river and the prisoners there know the story its not going to be a fun time for him. He better be in protective custody or he will never make a noise when he farts again.

If the ridiculous sentence weren't bad enough, the father's letter about it where he complains that his son's life is ruined for '20 minutes of action' is enough to make you see red. Clearly it's not difficult to see where the son learned (or didn't) right from wrong.

On the flip side, the letter the victim wrote and read in court is absolutely heart-wrenching. I couldn't finish it. I sincerely hope that I never have to help anyone I love through that.

I kind of hope the little convicted rapist succeeds in getting another trial- and another judge who, when he's convicted again, throws him in prison for the maximum sentence possible instead of a slap on the wrist.

KyAllroad wrote: Apparently he was caught at the scene of the crime by a pair of dudes who tackled him and held him until the police arrived. The scene was so terrible one of them cried right there.

It's this part that leaves me wondering. Maybe I was brought up differently than most, and I definitely have more of a violent streak in me than most, but I saw the little berkers mug shot. No broken bones, still had skin on his body, his eyes weren't even blackened let alone gouged out.

I tend to believe me stumbling across a scene like this would turn that suspect into evidence in a homicide. Probably leave investigators wondering where the train that drove over him came from.

And it would probably be much much worse since I now have a daughter of my own.

This case is being discussed right now on "On Point" the NPR program. Really ugly stuff.

This is what money and good political connections get your kid. At this point im willing to be he manages too get the chargea dropped or reduced enough to avoid the sex offender registry.

Toyman01 wrote: ..Law is about facts, not feelings.

Ha ha ha, ha ha....

...that was supposed to be funny, right?

(let's just say, law is supposed to be about facts)

In reply to Toyman01:

Fact: Convicted of 3 felony counts of sexual assault
Fact: 6 month county prison sentence for all three

So, 12 people heard the testimony and made 3 informed decisions.

1 judge made it about feelings.

I don't think I'm out on a limb here when I say that seems a tad on the light side.

I will just leave this here:

Toyman01 wrote: I wasn't on the jury or even in the court room. My only opinion about the case is, if you weren't there and didn't hear the testimony, you can't make an informed decision. Law is about facts, not feelings.

The jury was there and made an informed decision to convict him and recommended a much longer sentencing. The outrage, feelings or not, is that the judge decided the jury's opinion didn't matter.

In reply to NGTD:

I don't see "Prison Welcome Party" on that chart but it's probably relevant to the convict in this case.

NGTD wrote: I will just leave this here:

+1,000,000,000

Unfortunately, not only is the sentence ridiculous, the judge sent him to county jail, not a prison. So hope of karmic retribution are all but dashed.

dyintorace wrote: Unfortunately, not only is the sentence ridiculous, the judge sent him to county jail, not a prison. So hope of karmic retribution are all but dashed.

Might not be entirely true. That really depends on the county. Here, the local 1% group happens to have a lot of members who are guards at the county prison, and for "outlaws" they don't put up with this kind of E36 M3 at all.

I'm still very confused as to how felony charges, by definition requiring 1 year minimum behind bars, can be passed off as a few months. Even with suspended sentencing and time served, a felony charge means 365 days and nights inside minimum. At least it used to.

I'm hopeful the victim has male friends, relatives. Very large and scary ones. And pay him a visit in 6 months (or apparently 3 for good behavior) and can show him how "broken" he can really be.