A rape case in California has sparked outrage across the country.
20-year-old Brock Turner, a former student athlete at Stanford University, was found guilty in March of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman after a party in January 2015. He was sentenced last week to six months in jail and three years probation. The judge said, "A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him."
Critics denounced the sentence as lenient, and the victim and her supporters have spoken out against the inequalities of the legal system. They say the case was marred by male and class privilege. Would Turner have received a different sentence if he was not a white star athlete at a distinguished university? And how does this case fuel perceptions of rape culture? We discuss these questions with our guests:
- Danielle Ponder, criminal defense attorney
- Mary Jo Marino, program manager for Restore Sexual Assault Services
- Christi Waldron, college advocate coordinator for Restore Sexual Assault Services