Brock Turner, the former Stanford student who was convicted in June of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, will be released from jail Sept. 2. Turner's controversial 6-month sentence will reportedly be cut short due to "good behavior," Business Insiderreports. Turner is expected to be released from the Santa Clara County jail on Friday.
News of a possible early release for Turner first surfaced in June, when the Associated Pressobtained court documents showing a possible date in early September. County jail inmates, the AP reported, often serve "50 percent of their sentences" if they maintain a clean disciplinary record. The Santa Clara County Jail did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
As previously reported, the controversy surrounding Turner's sentencing has persisted in the months since his initial conviction. Aaron Persky, the judge who presided over the light Turner sentencing, recently recused himself from a separate case in which a plumber is accused of felony possession of child pornography. According to the Mercury News, Persky said in his filing that he stumbled upon media coverage of the case while on vacation and felt it might damage his appearance of impartiality.
Turner was found guilty on three counts of felony sexual assault and sentenced to 6 months incarceration in June. "A prison sentence would have a severe impact on [Turner]," Persky said at the time of sentencing, according to the New York Times. "I think he will not be a danger to others." Turner's father also claimed his son's life had been marred for "20 minutes of action," a comment which heightened the level of scrutiny surrounding the case and its representation of American rape culture at large.
