On Brock Turner and the institutional racism that saved him

Recently, I read about a case of rape, in which the accused, Brock Turner, allegedly raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. A Stanford student, and promising athlete, Turner was sentenced to a mere six months in county jail. Judge Aaron Persky thought “a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him … I think he will not be a danger to others.” (Holden). While there is so much injustice to talk about in this case, including the perspective of the victim, the leniency of the sentence, the denial on Turner’s part of what he had done, and much more, I would like to focus on the racial aspects for this post.

            Turner has benefited from the institutional racism in America’s judicial system. As a white male, the idea that he has potential as a swimmer and athlete has been central to his defence. However, the reason behind his father, his attorney and even the judge looking for reasons to excuse him of his crimes is the fact that he is white. Incarceration rates in the US disproportionately affect men and women of colour, black convicts are much more likely to receive longer sentences than white convicts. Zeba Blay mentions this in an article discussing Turner’s case and how his whiteness, wealth and gender played a huge role in his protection and lenient sentence. She notes that the disproportional conviction of black criminals over their white counterparts “isn’t because people of color are just more prone to crim. It’s because our highly flawed criminal justice system is steeped in racial bias.” Now, this is not to say that criminals of colour should be given lenient sentences. Those who commit crimes such as rape must all be given equally harsh sentences that are appropriate to the crime, in which race, wealth (or lack thereof) or gender play no part.

References:

• Blay, Zeba: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lets-not-ignore-the-importance-of-brock-turners-whiteness_us_5756d791e4b0b60682dee518?vhadcxr=&
• Victim's statement: https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.xgeYkzgqAl#.rnwzb1nBDd Trigger warning: This article contains detail about rape and sexual violence, please be warned. 
• Holden, Madeleine: http://thespinoff.co.nz/media/08-06-2016/this-is-how-you-raise-a-rapist-on-the-culture-which-created-brock-turner