Sign the petition re: Stanford rape case

Add your name: Judge Persky's actions show that he cannot be trusted to dispense justice and he must resign immediately.

Dear MoveOn member,

Brock Allen Turner, a Stanford University student, was convicted of raping an unconscious woman on the Stanford campus after two graduate students found him on top of the woman, behind a dumpster, outside of a fraternity party.¹ 

But California Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to just six months in a county jail.² As a Stanford graduate, I am disgusted that this rape occurred, and I am outraged by Judge Persky's sentence. Will you join me in calling on Judge Persky to resign from his position 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 resign immediately.

Instead of justice, Judge Persky handed convicted rapist Brock Allen Turner the lightest possible sentence for raping an unconscious woman, saying that prison would have "a severe impact on [Turner]." 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

This rape culture cannot continue. Rapists must be held accountable for their actions, and judges who refuse to do so must resign. 

There is precedent for calling for a judge's resignation: Back in 2013, when Judge G. Todd Baugh sentenced a former high school teacher to just 30 days in prison for repeatedly raping a 14-year-old student, MoveOn member Kate Olp started a petition calling on the judge to resign. After thousands of MoveOn members and allies joined Kate's call, the Montana Judicial Standards Commission filed a formal complaint against the judge, and he ultimately did not seek re-election.⁴

Will you stand with me, just as MoveOn members stood with Kate Olp, and speak out against rape culture by calling for Judge Persky to resign?

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

Thanks!

—Emily Figdor

Sources:

1. "Stanford sex assault: Brock Turner gets 6 months in jail," San Jose Mercury News, June 2, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/4113?t=5&akid=165705.10220574.Q9ufa8

2. Ibid.

3. "'20 minutes of action': father defends Stanford student son convicted of sexual assault," The Guardian, June 5, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/4114?t=7&akid=165705.10220574.Q9ufa8

4. "Montana Supreme Court reprimands judge for rape comments," Missoulian, July 23, 2014
http://act.moveon.org/go/4112?t=9&akid=165705.10220574.Q9ufa8

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