Just when you thought the court case against former Stanford swimmer and convicted rapist Brock Turner couldn’t get any worse – it did.
In January 2015, Turner was tackled by two Stanford graduate students when they witnessed him assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. Now, over a year later, Turner’s trial has finally come to a close and his sentence has sent the nation in an uproar – six months in a county prison when he faced a maximum sentence of 14 years.
The case gained national attention when the victim’s incredibly eloquent and powerful anonymous statement went viral. The most recent statement released came from Turner himself and was incredibly painful to read but for a completely different reason.
It’s clear that after testimonies, evidence and a conviction, Turner still does not comprehend what he has done. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he continuously tries to write them off – blaming the college drinking culture, peer pressure and, “sexual promiscuity.”
In order to prove how incredibly ignorant Turner remains, I’ve highlighted some excerpts from his statement below.
Turner tries to shift the blame to his swim teammates, saying that their lifestyle encouraged him to think his actions were okay.
“The swim team sets no limits on partying or drinking and I saw the guys take full advantage of these circumstances, while I was shown to do the same. The guys I thought highly of would dance with girls while being intoxicated and encouraged me to participate in the party like they were.”
It’s so great that you looked up to your older teammates, Brock! Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure encouraging you to dance with girls is not synonymous with encouraging you to rape girls, so I’m not sure why your teammates are really a relevant part of this story.
He then continues to explain the series of events that unfolded, which oddly enough seem to be quite different from the events described by the victim and witnesses.
“We began walking back to my room towards the path that would eventually lead up to my house. The next thing I realize we’re both on the ground laying next to each other because it seemed as though she lost her footing heading down the slope and I went down with her. We started laughing about it and I was just thinking about how much of a klutz I could be.”
That’s so cute, it’s like a scene out of a movie. Two young students, holding hands when suddenly one trips. Then they fall together, giggling at the embarrassment of the situation. Too bad that’s not what happened! She was UNCONSCIOUS on the ground. She didn’t “lose her footing”; she was too intoxicated to stand up. There is a massive difference, and quite frankly, you are embarrasing yourself with that pathetic attempt to write off what happened.
“I thought things were going fine and that I just existed in a reality where nothing could go wrong and nobody could think of what I was doing as wrong.”
What kind of sick and twisted reality is that?! All the more reason you should be sitting in a prison cell for far longer than six months.
“I asked her if she enjoyed what I was doing, to which she gave me a positive response.”
Oh really? Did she say the word, “yes”? Because if not, it’s not consent. And given the fact that she was unconscious, I’m pretty sure her so-called “positive response” was not the verbal word, “yes.”
“I wish I had the ability to go back in time and never pick up a drink that night.”
Drinking is not the crime here, rape is. Alcohol is not the problem, you are. Why don’t you wish you could go back in time and never rape someone?
“I wish I was never good at swimming or had the opportunity to attend Stanford, so that maybe the newspapers wouldn’t write stories about me.”
I hate to burst your bubble, but newspapers are no longer writing stories about you because you were good at swimming and attended an Ivy League university. Newspapers are writing stories about you because you received a sentence incredibly too lenient for the crime you committed and the lives you ruined. Newspapers are writing stories about you because your father called the events of that night, “20 minutes of action.” Newspapers are writing stories about you because you were convicted of rape. Swimming and Stanford are most certainly not the reason newspapers are writing stories about you.
“I want to show that people’s lives can be destroyed by drinking and making poor decisions while doing so. I made a mistake, I drank too much, and I hurt someone.”
No one’s life was destroyed by alcohol, Brock. Again, your mistake was not shotgunning a beer or taking shots of Fireball. Your mistake was raping a woman.
“I want no one, male or female, to have to experience the destructive consequences of making decisions while under the influence of alcohol.”
Here, I’ll help you out with this one last time. What you should have written was: “I want no one, male or female, to have to experience the destructive consequences of sexual assault and rape.” When will you get it?
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