Case proves again that justice is not blind

By now, many of you have heard about the entitled piece of garbage in California who was sentenced to six months in jail for raping an unconscious woman behind a Dumpster outside a Stanford University frat party.

Brock Turner. That’s the piece of trash’s name. The once-Olympic-hopeful swimmer at Stanford who got loaded at a party and decided to try to take advantage of a young woman who was too drunk to defend herself. Too drunk to walk home under her own power. Too drunk to even stay awake.

And certainly too drunk to offer any kind of consent, whatsoever.

If you don’t know about this situation already, I’ll tell you that it wasn’t a forensic breakthrough that broke the case — though there was plenty of scientific evidence to support it. Nor was it a case of detectives wearing out their shoe leather in an exhaustive investigation — though they most-certainly did their due diligence in chasing every lead.

No, two Swedish students happened by the scene while they were riding bicycles, realized immediately that something was not right, according to their statements, and confronted Turner. He took off running, and one of the students checked on the victim while the other chased Turner down and tackled him. The two students then held Turner in place until the police arrived.

That’s being caught in the act. The act of rape.

Yes, Turner was convicted of sexual assault. Apparently, the students came across him before he could complete the full act of the legal definition of “rape.” But, it’s rape. That’s all there is to it. If you violate someone without his or her permission to do so, you are a rapist. You are a rapist and a piece of filth.

And, apparently, you get six months of jail time for that.

Perhaps the judge, Aaron Persky, was influenced by the fact that Turner was a good-looking white kid who was a standout swimmer with Olympic dreams. Or the fact that Persky was also an athlete at Stanford years ago. Or maybe it had to do with an impassioned plea in a letter penned by Turner’s father, Dan, before sentencing.

Here, let me share with you a sliver of that letter, which is circulating like wildfire around the internet:

“These verdicts have broken and shattered him and our family in so many ways. 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. The fact that he now has to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life forever alters where he can live, visit, work, and how he will be able to interact with people and organizations. What I know as a father is that incarceration is not the appropriate punishment for Brock.”

Before I destroy his letter, let me say this: I understand that Dan Turner continues to love his son. There isn’t a single part of me that will judge him for that. However...

• I’m sure the verdicts were very difficult for the family to hear, and, yeah, they will have an impact on the rest of his life. But, um, the victim? The victim’s family? How’s her life going to be impacted going forward? How is her family expected to be rocks of support for her while facing the traumatization of knowing she was raped by an entitled bag of refuse behind a Dumpster, and that her attacker will be out of jail in six months?

• So, his life will never be the one he dreamed of? I’m guessing this is not the life the victim fantasized about as a kid.

• A steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action? I think I’m going to throw up over this one. How long does it take to pull a trigger and take an innocent life? Should we base punishment on how long it takes someone to do something deplorable?

• Registering as a sex offender does indeed impact the rest of his life, and if he had to do so because he got caught urinating near a playground at 3 a.m. on a drunken evening, I would listen to the argument. But he is registering as a sex offender because... wait for it... HE?IS?A?SEX?OFFENDER. He raped someone. Behind a Dumpster. While she was unconscious. He is registering as a sex offender because the world needs to know he is a dangerous, disgusting predator.

The light sentence has sparked outrage and controversy across these fruited plains, and for good reason. It’s a travesty, and illustrates once again that justice is not handed down in a fair manner.

I’ve heard and read people say “white privilege” over this sentencing. Or “rape culture.” Yes, he’s white. And, yes, it does show yet again that the old “boys-will-be-boys” mentality still exists in too many corners.

But I don’t think the average non-athlete-Stanford-student white kid would have gotten the same sentence, nor do I believe 99 percent of rapists of any shape, size or color would have received six months.

“The judge had to bend over backwards to accomodate this young man,” said Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, in an interview with NBC news.

You want to know why some people feel entitled? It’s because some people prove time and time again that they are entitled.

If the judicial system is indeed blind, it has elevated its other senses to accomodate. Some people remain above the law.