Odds are you’ve heard about the Stanford swimmer rape case that’s all over the news. If not here’s the story: A judge sentenced 20-year-old Brock Turner to just six months in county jail, along with probation, for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. And people are rightfully outraged at the lenient sentence—it’s far less than the six years prosecutors recommended and the 14-year maximum sentence.
Adding fuel to the fire, a letter by Turner’s father talks about how much his son has suffered (yes, his son) and calls for probation only, saying jail “is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.”
Twitter user Jez Kemp rewrote the letter to point out the crazy ways the media has talked about Turner’s case and sexual assault in general. Instead of focusing on the victim’s suffering, we talk about the rapist. His fall from grace. His athletic accomplishments. His lack of criminal history. As Kemp shows with the rewrite, Turner got a lot of attention (and sympathy) while standing trial, but we really should be thinking about and working to protect the victim and the countless others who have stories just like hers.
Here’s the original version:
