Abbey Winiger- Mad about Brock Turner's sentence? It's not just you.

     SUMMARY-  Brock Turner has only served three months of a jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. He was a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of three felonies, and his leaving of jail on Friday has raised questions of injustice and controversy surrounding his case. There is a campaign to recall the judge, but now suspiciously he will no longer hear criminal cases. Those who study or work in the criminal justice system have noticed that young age, white males, and strong athletic ability have been less likely to be convicted than the general population.  Former Philadelphia prosecutor Jennifer Long says "More often than not in these cases, you see punishments that are lower than the conduct seems to require." Brock Turner's story has raised many questions about minimizing what actually happened to the victim.

     ANALYSIS/SYNTHESIS- Prior to reading this article I have seen a lot of outrage on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Many people believe Brock Turner is getting privilege for attending a highly respected school, or being a young athlete. The creators of this article are the highly knowledgeable news broadcasting station of CNN. It is a reliable source because it is one of the most trusted name in news today. I think that Brock Turner's sentence was unjust and that he was given a special privilege. I don't think it's fair that a highly educated, young, white male is given a lesser sentence than any other person in society. After reading many opinions of Brock Turner, I believe it is unfair that his sentence reflects racial bias. This story gives us an insight into our botched criminal system, and how legislative is not fair for everyone.

     This case reminds me of Brian Banks, a young black high school football player accused of rape. Although he was innocent, he served 6 years starting in 2003 and was registered as a sex offender. He had no criminal history, but was charged with a higher sentence on account of his race. This case also raised questions around racial bias and how his race changed the outcome of a sentence. Brock Turner, the white young athlete was given 3 months due to rape of an unconscious woman, while innocent black athlete Brain Banks was given 6 years to serve.



http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/02/us/brock-turner-college-athletes-sentence/index.html