Brock Turner should be punished forever? Guess what? He will be.
“Brock, some of us will follow your time in prison and after. We 
will make sure that your 20 minutes of action are not forgotten, and that women will be warned where ever you take up
residence…May you never have one moment of peace for the remainder of your miserable life.”
This is one of thousands of comments posted online, and one of the less vicious, protesting the sentence handed down by Judge Persky to Brock Turner after a jury trial concluded with a conviction of rape.
In this age of hyper-vigilance against any hint of sexual assault, especially on college campuses where labels of “rape culture” have empowered special campus committees with extraordinary powers against the accused, this is not surprising.
Mr. Turner’s father’s ill-advised and crudely rendered comment regarding the outcome did nothing but further raise the level of fury against a sentence of six months in jail and a probationary term of three years. Petitions are sweeping the website calling for Judge Persky’s removal. Blogs dedicated to soliciting hate messages directed to Brock are blossoming. Facebook is turning a blind eye to the hate and violence some of their messages contain. Dr. Drew jumped in with an entire show dedicated to the unfairness of the punishment.
Even Vice-president Biden has joined the chorus of vitriol, lending the weight of the executive branch of our government to the outcry.
One thing is missing.
Those calling for a lifetime of punishment are overlooking the fact that it has been assessed and will be served. Brock Turner, for as long as he lives, will be a lifetime registrant on the sex offender registry.
His scholarship is toast. The parameters of his life will be structured as long as he lives by the requirements and limitations of the sex offender registry of whatever state he lives in. His future will be significantly diminished and damaged. Consequences may include difficulty completing his education, inability to obtain employment, and not being able to live in many areas or locations. He may not be able to attend his children’s school functions or even take them to school. He may be forbidden entry to parks, libraries, and a host of other “child-focused” public or private venues. He could even possibly be forbidden to place Christmas lights on his home or turn on a porch light on Halloween. He and his family, including his children, will quite possibly be victims of harassment, ridicule, vandalism, and assault.
While his haters are pleased with this, it is not a good thing.
The American justice system is built on the premise that man commits crime>man is punished>man learns lesson>man goes on to become a functioning, law-abiding member of society. This is the very best possible outcome for public safety and society in general.
The registry stops that process during the last step because no matter how rehabilitated and law-abiding a registrant has become, the public registry assures that he will never be forgiven nor his actions forgotten by those who think that, of all possible crimes, even torture and murder, only sexual crimes should be never forgiven and forever punished.
Brock Turner committed a terrible crime. He caused pain and suffering to an innocent victim and her family. He brought dishonor on his name and his family. Many feel his punishment should be cruel and unusual and last a lifetime.
It will.
He did something stupid as mosteoporosis kids his age do. I don’t condone his actions but the stigma of the registry hurts us on it. Trying to get a job and being ashamed of what we did and having to relive and retell the story is pure mental anguish for registrants. I would have liked to see him punished more and his dad was a fool for saying anything but what’s done is done. He was put thru the judicial system and he’ll serve his time in. But a lot of the scars are unseen by those on the registry. It sometimes never ends.
I haven’t seen one story stating that Brock Allen must register on the SO registry.
Did I miss it?
I’ve read 6 or 7 stories and the only thing they mention is a 6 moth jail (not prison) term.
JR,
That will come most assuredly once his time to leave the jail is followed by the media, et al. The repercussion wave of this is just starting…..first comes confinement, then release, then finding a place to live and the registry…..
Several articles have mentioned registration.
Here’s an article i read today. Although i absolutely agree that what this 20 year old man did was twisted and wrong it seems like bad precedent to charge someone with rape when there was no physical contact. To me, it seems like this young man needs some help…not 28 years in prison. He’s only 20!
http://www.twincities.com/2016/06/09/lake-elmo-teenager-online-sex-slave/
Although the article was well written and I more than understand the implications and ramifications, as my own child is on the registry, I don’t completely agree.
Yes, his life will be extraordinarily difficult and the fallout will affect his family and future children. That is incredibly sad. And wrong. I live this. I do understand.
But I also understand the outcry of the punishment not fitting the crime. Six months and probation? That’s wrong too. So very wrong. When I was a young woman and dating, a young man I knew well, attempted to force me. It was horrible and I was terrified and, although the sexual act was not completed, these many years later, it still brings me to tears and I feel that panic and terror. It meant nothing to him. He went on his merry way and I’m sure never gave me a second thought. So, even though I get what you’re saying and I know what you’re stating is indeed factual, you still have to understand the public outcry. What if you were the victim. Or your daughter, wife, mother? It’s so very different then, no matter what we know. No matter the logic.
I have a hard time saying anything in his defense,. I can’t help but feel a little appalled by his light sentence as I know many of us have received much harsher sentences for lesser crimes, but in the end we all deserve the right to reach for our full potential and rebuild our lives after our time has been served. The human brain is not fully developed until mid to late 20s. This often results in exercising poor judgment, especially when alcohol is a factor. I will give him that. He is an immature kid, but even if he wasn’t, nobody deserves to be labeled for life and restricted from leading a contructive life.
After his probationary period of three years, he will be free to leave this damned country.
Which country would you recommend for an SO to go to? I mean with the way things are now with so much PC BS playing a huge factor in all of this, not including the aforementioned future member of the registry, but where is a place one can escape the Scarlet Letter that is the registry?
He needs more jail and more probation and some goals based (not unlimited never ending) therapy. THIS IS the United States of America isn’t it? Nobody should be on any kind of felon registry.
But that’s the problem with this society now. Too much political correctness and jumping to conclusions with all the evidence. The registry is just like the Salem Witch hunts of the 1600’s. Once you are accused of anything, you have to repent and even when you do, they burn you to the stake in the name of whatever they believe in. Sad that so many are on this list.
This entire series of events began spiralling out to the fringes when both individuals had taken one drink too many of a beverage with alcohol in it. Everything beyond that point from either of their perspectives is unreliable at best. Since no one else can verify with 100% certainty whether or not any conduct between these two after this point was not consensual or was consensual its unfair to categorize either person by putting them into the box of a label that makes society contextually able to deal with what transpired. I won’t call the man a perpetrator or the woman a victim.
There were better ways to deal with the situation and the results might have turned out the same, but maybe not. Instead two people have had their lives changed . Hopefully both can move beyond the events of that night and live decent happy lives. Tragically at least one of these two will face life long anguish and the other due in part to a hyper aware information society likely won’t fare much better.
One of the most reasonable responses to this case, over 100,000 views
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RMAKkUO-HnA
Ok Fred I’m back….While I try to understand all this registry I also try to pay little attention to it anymore. The court systems pull a Svengali number’s numbers on all those caught up in this sex registry thing and only time will tell if the readers of these comments will take more of a push.
Marilyn Monroe once said everyone has a bit of sexuality. In this situation I’m incline to agree with one of Billy Joel’s song ” We didn’t start the fire”.
I’m considered an habitual drunk in man’s terms… But it seems they are treating sex offenses as habitual first timers. It sort of makes me laugh at the nonsense that these men with knowledge and all their court jargon know about human nature.
A little bit of punishment is good but a lifelong punishment is not but the courts are not perfect and go by their “God law” I’m sure everybody on this board knows who the supreme authority is and believe me He is no respecter of person.
In my opinion, this is not a story that RSOL should be commenting on at all. This man got only a few months in jail for actual rape instead of the 15 years he should’ve gotten. Not statutory rape. Not drunken consent, but rape. After reading multiple stories about this case, the woman was completely unconscious at the time of the incident which is rape any way you look at it. RSOL is committed to restoring the rights of those affected by the registry AFTER they’ve served their legitimate sentence, which in this case, should’ve been much longer. This article makes it seem like RSOL is defending this guy when that actually hurts our cause. RSOL should be condemning this act in its entirety and the judge for giving such a ridiculously short sentence. If anything, the registry’s life long oppression in cases like this can give the defense an excuse to have the sentence shortened. Condemning the court’s actions in this case could give us the momentum we need, but I fear this post will just confirm the public’s opinion about the organization.
Certain things are pretty important to me. Before my conviction, I payed very little attention to this stuff. But, the more I learn, the more appalled I am. Will things ever change for us? Idk. But if so, it will be years I am sure. Some days I don’t even know why I try to stand up. While we are one, little causes us to unite. And it shouldn’t be that way, should it?
I was the same way, Tara. yes, things will change. You, we must remember to get active with this site, with our leaders and to encourage your family and friends to be active as well…
Stay positive!! Things will get better!!!
I have been on the registry since 2002. Things are getting better now. There are court cases all over the country aimed at changing things. Ten years ago, people would barely speak out against it and now we have very outspoken voices. It is people like you and many others making your voices heard here and in other venues who are leading this charge. Because of that we will see change and I feel confident it is not that far off.
To Fred and Greg… I hope you two are right. Once I get a computer, I will be able to be more active. As of right now, I only have a phone and its quite finicky. One of the older cell phones.
The Brock Turner incident needs more careful consideration. Too much misinformation and propaganda has been touting itself as factual. If most persons read the ‘victims’s impact statement’ and come away believing this person is a genuine victim, I have little hope for humanity. There were many things that this alleged ‘victim’ did to put herself in the position of consensual participant. The ‘passed-out’ status may have occurred at the exact time the bicyclists introduced themselves. She may have ‘faked’ part of her ‘passed-out’ status as well. Just so she wouldn’t look so loose and easy and maybe could keep her present boyfriend, the one she was messing around on with Brock.
I read and see holes all through her statement. I see holes all in her story. I see professional victimhood at work.
Brock was no angel, but this alleged ‘victim’ is a real piece of work herself.
Watch Janice Fiamengo on YouTube. Stanford Rape case. 18 minute video