The convicted Stanford rapist whose lenient six-month sentence has inspired controversy just caught another break. Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, will reportedly be released from the Santa Clara County jail on Sept. 2, according to the Associated Press. That's a full three months before his previously scheduled release date.
"We are charge with the care and custody of inmates and are told by the courts when an inmate should be released," a jail spokesperson told Complex.
County jail inmates serve half of their sentences if they have a clean disciplinary record, AP reported.
Turner, who was booked June 2, blamed his actions on so-called "party culture," writing in a Guardian-obtained letter to judge Aaron Persky that he wanted to be a "voice of reason" on "excessive" drinking:
I want to demolish the assumption that drinking and partying are what make up a college lifestyle. I made a mistake, I drank too much, and my decisions hurt someone. But I never ever meant to intentionally hurt [redacted]. My poor decision making and excessive drinking hurt someone that night and I wish I could just take it all back.
In her own letter to Turner, the rape survivor, who has chosen to remain anonymous, talked of being "pummeled with narrowed, pointed questions" about her personal life following the assault. BuzzFeedpublished the letter in full last week, excerpted below:
After a physical assault, I was assaulted with questions designed to attack me, to say see, her facts don’t line up, she’s out of her mind, she’s practically an alcoholic, she probably wanted to hook up, he’s like an athlete right, they were both drunk, whatever, the hospital stuff she remembers is after the fact, why take it into account, Brock has a lot at stake so he’s having a really hard time right now.
Prosecutors had requested six years in prison for Brock's January 2015 sexual assault, though he was ultimately given six months in jail and three years' probation. That sentence, which many have argued is unfairly lenient given the crime, quickly inspired a petition calling for Persky to resign. At time of publication, the petition has garnered nearly 900,000 signatures.
The ongoing controversy has centered on what many have called an obvious example of privilege. One such critic is Brian Banks, an ex-football star who was wrongfully convicted of rape and served five years in prison:
Banks spoke with the New York Daily News Monday, arguing that the judge didn't take general fairness into account when handing down Turner's sentence. "What about the kid who has nothing, he struggles to eat, struggles to get a fair education?" Banks asked. "What about the kid who has no choice who he is born to and has drug-addicted parents or a non-parent household? Where is the consideration for them when they commit a crime?"
