SPEAKING OUT

Juror Slams Stanford Rape Case Judge

Says judge completely ignored the findings of the jury.

A juror in the trial of Stanford student Brock Turner, convicted of rape for a 2015 attack, has written to the judge in the case to denounce his ruling. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky has faced calls for his ouster after issuing a six-month sentence in the case and apparently expressing sympathy for the attacker rather than the victim, saying Turner shouldn’t face prison time because it would have a “severe impact” on him. On Monday, one of the jurors in the case went public and called out Persky for the “ridiculously lenient” sentence, saying the judge had opted for his own personal opinion over the findings of the jury. The juror, who spoke on condition of anonymity to local media, sent a letter to the judge expressing his disappointment. Persky’s move “made a mockery of the trial” and sent the message that rapists do not face consequences, he said. He is the first juror in the case to speak out on the matter.