Fwd: The Stanford rape case making headlines

Add your name: Judge Persky must be removed from the bench immediately.

Hi Eddie!—Nearly 1 million people have already signed petitions calling for the judge who handed down a slap-on-the-wrist sentence to Stanford student Brock Turner, who raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster, to resign. On Friday at noon Pacific Time, our allies at UltraViolet will be delivering these petition signatures in San Francisco to the Committee on Judicial Performance demanding that they take action against Judge Aaron Persky. Will you sign the petition now so that they can deliver your name tomorrow? –Maria

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Dear MoveOn member,

Judge Aaron Persky sentenced convicted rapist Brock Allen Turner to just six months in county jail and probation after he was found guilty of raping an unconscious woman outside of a fraternity party on the Stanford campus.¹ In his remarks at sentencing, Judge Persky justified this light sentence out of concern for Turner's future and the impact the verdict will have on his life.²

Giving a lenient sentence to a convicted rapist is unacceptable. Women who are raped deserve justice. Will you sign this petition demanding that the Committee on Judicial Performance remove Judge Persky immediately?

Judge Aaron Persky's failure to hold Brock Turner accountable for the rape and his dismissive comments at sentencing show that he cannot be trusted to dispense justice. He must be removed from the bench immediately.

Brock Turner, a Stanford University student, was convicted of raping an unconscious woman on the Stanford campus. Two graduate students found him on top of the woman, behind a dumpster, outside of a fraternity party.

But California Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to just six months in a county jail, saying that prison would have "a severe impact on him." It's worth noting that Turner's father had called on the judge to give him only probation, saying he had already "paid a steep price" for "20 minutes of action."³

As a Stanford graduate, I'm disgusted that this rape occurred and I am outraged by Judge Persky's lenient sentence. Join me in demanding that the Committee on Judicial Performance remove him from the bench immediately.

Rapists must be held accountable for their actions, and judges who refuse to hold them accountable must be removed from the bench.

The Committee on Judicial Performance has the authority to remove a judge. If enough of us speak out and demand justice, we can ensure judges like Judge Persky must value the life of the woman who was raped over the consequences of a just sentence for the rapist.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks for all you do.

—Emily Figdor

Sources:

1. "Stanford sexual assault: judge facing recall campaign over light sentence," The Guardian, June 6, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/4106?t=7&akid=165794.10220574.EzW6u1

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

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