Ex-Stanford swimmer expected to leave jail 3 months early

[alp227]

Source: AP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former Stanford University swimmer whose six-month sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman ignited widespread outrage will leave jail three months early.

Online inmate records show 20-year-old Brock Turner is expected to be released from the Santa Clara County jail on Sept. 2. He was booked June 2.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/55fe39062b4d433f9c11a47b4d6eadf8/ex-stanford-swimmer-expected-leave-jail-2-months-early

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Seriously. https://eservices.sccgov.org/OVR/FindInmate/Find

[TeamPooka]

1. Summer stock. nt

[Sunlei]

2. half off sentence for good time. Still probation, 3 felonies on record & life on sex offender list.

[elljay]

3. Oh, he's still appealing that conviction

If he gets an appellate panel of ex-Stanford athletes like Judge Persky, which is actually not that unlikely in Northern California, his conviction could be overturned. Then, he could go back to his life without those 20 minutes of action having any effect whatsoever.

[Sunlei]

5. He had a jury trial, doubt he's able to overturn that conviction.

There were many credible witnesses to his crimes, including ambulance and police who cared for the unconscious victim.

[elljay]

12. Those aren't the issues on appeal

It basically has to do with legal error, though if the factual evidence was clearly improper or inadequate that would also be an issue. However, his attorneys will be focusing on whether there were any errors in the conducting of the proceeding. In other words, was the jury chosen fairly, was evidence improperly excluded, were the correct jury instructions given. If they are good attorneys, they intentionally tried to create a situation in the trial that they can now claim was legal error, for example, by trying to introduce some controversial evidence that they knew the judge would exclude so they could later claim that this was an erroneous decision and the verdict must be overturned.

[Sunlei]

17. He won't get off but he can pay attorneys a million and try. They'll take the money.

[elljay]

18. I haven't practiced criminal law in decades

so my knowledge is way out of date. However, strategically, there is a part of me that thinks having the conviction overturned is not necessarily a bad thing. The case would be remanded for retrial. Since this trial is all over the news and even the AG of California has taken a stand, the DA would retry it rather than dismiss the case. If the evidence is as strong as it appears to be, the legal error would be corrected and he would be convicted again. The judge, if he is really smart and values his career, will ask for supplemental evidence regarding sentencing and will find some "new information" that supports a stiffer sentence. With almost 1M signatures on a petition for his recall, he would be a fool to not see that his career depends upon this. The net result might actually be justice.

[yardwork]

21. But the problem isn't with the decision, it's with the sentencing.

This was a strong case - unbiased, sober witnesses who caught the perp in the act, a victim who was completely unconscious and the perp was found guilty of three felonies. That's considered a highly successful case. The problem is that the judge ignored the sentencing guidelines and prosecution's recommendation.

You never know what happens with a jury, especially with a sexual assault case. This jury found the perpetrator guilty of three felonies. That's a huge success.

No wonder the prosecution is furious.

[elljay]

35. Correct

and the question is whether there is any way to increase the sentence. My thought, based on very old criminal law experience, is that it might be possible if the conviction is overturned on appeal, there is a new trial and conviction, and the judge re-sentences him. I suspect that if the judge gave a longer sentence based on the same information, there would be another appeal and it might be sent back. However, if the judge gets new information and justifies the longer sentence on the new information, then there is a stronger basis for the longer sentence and less likelihood of remand.

As a bit of a legal primer, a case's being overturned on appeal does not necessarily have to do with whether the defendant actually committed the crime or whether the proof was strong and convincing. An example - An Asian-American man is charged with a crime. He actually committed the crime and the proof is irrefutable and strong. However, during jury selection the prosecutor challenged each and every Asian-American juror while making notes that he did so because he believed no Asian would ever vote to convict another Asian. At jury instructions, the defendant asked for a particular instruction on the law and this instruction was correct and proper for the case. The judge refused to give the instruction. This is a case in which the conviction would be overturned not because of guilt or evidence, but because the prosecution violated the defendant's civil rights and because the judge failed to properly instruct the jury. The remedy would be a new trial with Asian American jurors allowed to serve on the jury and with the correct jury instruction. With the compelling evidence, the jury at the retrial would convict, there would be no civil rights violation, and the appeal would lose.

[former9thward]

37. He has not yet appealed the verdict.

His attorney's have filed paperwork which preserves his right to appeal.

[Geronimoe]

6. Meanwhile

He is continuing to mentally and psychologically rape his victim.

[elljay]

13. Despite the fact that she ruined his life.

This clearly has been a learning experience for him and his father.

[christx30]

19. Given the dad's statements about

the whole case, I'm also worried about possible retaliation against the victim. Either by the dad, his agents, or the rapist when he gets out of jail in 3 months.
I think the judge has done nearly as much as the rapist to hurt this woman. Minimized her pain, accepted the "30 minutes of action" argument from dad. Sickening.

[elljay]

36. I think they will do whatever they can to keep the rapist out of trouble

He will be on probation for 3 years and it doesn't take much to violate probation if they're gunning for you. His probation officer will have the right to search him, take drug/alcohol tests, stop and search his car and property and generally ride his sorry ass at any time of day or night and for no reason whatsoever. If he happens to get a PO who is as outraged at the sentence as we are, that may happen. The consequences for a probation violation are that he could have to serve up to the full remaining amount of his probation, which is three years. If his father has any brains, he will be monitoring each and every second of his son's life for the next three years and keeping as far away from the victim as possible.

[smirkymonkey]

40. That just makes me furious!

I can't believe this useless little piece of shit is getting off so easily!

[yurbud]

28. creepy thought: how many male judges probably aren't either former jocks or frat members?

[niyad]

38. a sentence that was only TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT of minimum. nothing more than a tap on the wrist.

please do not try to minimize this absolute travesty of justice.

[Geronimoe]

4. 3 months for rape?

I thought the minimum sentence is 10 years.

[Sunlei]

7. the 3 felonies wern't rape charges.

Last edited Thu Jun 9, 2016, 05:14 PM - Edit history (1)

[Chakab]

24. Turners action's more than justified a rape charge.

From section 261 of the California penal code:

261. (a) Rape is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a
person not the spouse of the perpetrator, under any of the following
circumstances:
(3) Where a person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating
or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this
condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the
accused.
(4) Where a person is at the time unconscious of the nature of the
act, and this is known to the accused. As used in this paragraph,
"unconscious of the nature of the act" means incapable of resisting
because the victim meets any one of the following conditions:
(A) Was unconscious or asleep.
(B) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that the act
occurred.
(C) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator's fraud
in fact.
(D) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the
essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator's
fraudulent representation that the sexual penetration served a
professional purpose when it served no professional purpose.

People are directing their outrage at the judge and the police department for lenient treatment that Turner received, but the same should be directed at the prosecution. It is standard operating procedure for prosecutors to pursue the most severe charges possible. In this case they didn't do that. Not only did they pursue lesser charges than were warranted by Turner's actions, but they also pushed for a term of confinement that was relatively short.

This case is a textbook example of how implicit bias leads to the two-tier justice system. The wide amount of discretion afforded to police, prosecutors and judges leads to the disparate impact in the results of the court process.

[Sunlei]

26. yes, but to late now. Good thing those two people noticed them and saw him run away.

[Chakab]

33. It's never too late to make a stink about the inherent unfairness of the criminal justice system.

[Sunlei]

34. I know

[yurbud]

29. what were the exact charges they filed?

[Chakab]

32. Assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a

foreign object and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.

I find this just as baffling as the cop in Florida who was recently charged with attempted murder after killing someone.

[yurbud]

41. the whole thing is just as bad if he didn't penetrate her with his penis, but maybe that's why

that wasn't the charge.

[Iggo]

8. Sexual assault, and he could've gotten up to 14 years.

The DA asked for 6 years.

The judge gave him 6 months.

He'll probably serve 3 months.

Defendant is/was a Stanford athlete.

Judge was a Stanford athlete.

Old school justice.

Literally.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

30. Sunlei and Iggo have already pointed this out, but anyway,

here are the charges of which Brock Turner was convicted:

All-American swimmer found guilty of sexually assaulting unconscious woman on Stanford campus

By Michael E. Miller
@MikeMillerDC

March 31

....
It took the jury two days to find Turner guilty of three felonies: assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. Prosecutors had dropped rape charges several months earlier.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. ....

[yurbud]

31. cool GIF of Trump and green party candidate

[progree]

10. Change.org petition to impeach the no-big-deal Judge Persky has more than 903,000 signatures

That's 9/10 of a million. With a little help, that could be an even million.

https://www.change.org/p/california-state-house-recall-judge-aaron-persky

This Petition is an effort to force Impeachment hearings for Judge Perksy By the California Assembly. It is not a recall effort. If you are local and would like to join the recall Effort contact Michele Dauber at Stanford University 1(650)723-2512******

[Aristus]

27. Signed!

Let's get Persky the hell out of there...

[yurbud]

11. date rape will be taken seriously when passed out drunk frat boys wake up naked and sore behind

dumpsters.

[Nitram]

15. You can bet that has already happened.

[yurbud]

20. to the son of a wealthy alumnus or a jock who can no longer play because of injuries sustained

in the rape.

[Nitram]

14. From a discussion I hard this morning on NPR, sexual assault is not punished as severely as rape.

Apparently it is not legally considered rape because he only penetrated the victim with his fingers. Of course he may have done more if he had not been stopped. The fact that he freely confessed works in his favor.

[yardwork]

22. He did NOT confess. He tried to run away when caught and he has never admitted culpability.

He has claimed that it was consensual and that he "didn't know" that his victim was not consenting. She was unconscious. The people who saved her - caught the rapist in the act and chased him when he tried to run - thought that she might be dead at first. She was not moving.

This guy is a predator and he will attack again, especially since he got away with it this time.

[skepticscott]

16. Next thing you know

The judge will be offering to have the court pay off his student loan.

[ailsagirl]

23. Whaaat??

I'm speechless

[shanti]

25. the victim

was unconsious through all of it, and until 4am the next day, according to stories i've read. i wonder if she had been roofied and tested for it afterwards.

the rapist says he was drinking, but the swedish guys said he was coherent and not slurring. shades of bill cosby....

[KamaAina]

39. "Ex-Stanford swimmer"?!

Not "Stanford rapist"??

More here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027893086

edit: They've changed the headline to "Stanford sex offender expected to leave jail 3 months early".

[avaistheone1]

43. You have got that right!

[ailsagirl]

42. kick

[JackRiddler]

44. That headline is atrocious.

Ex-Stanford swimmer? That's the relevance, not convicted rapist?

[ailsagirl]

45. Yes, I noticed that

[Judi Lynn]

46. A kick in the face to women everywhere. Not acceptable. n/t

[progree]

47. (Update) Impeach the judge- Change.org petition -- 1,027,000 signed

Last edited Fri Jun 10, 2016, 09:20 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.change.org/p/california-state-house-recall-judge-aaron-persky

This Petition is an effort to force Impeachment hearings for Judge Perksy By the California Assembly. It is not a recall effort