'The judge got it wrong': Politicians join Stanford rape outcry
Outrage over a six-month sentence handed down to a former Stanford student convicted of three counts of sexual assault last week has spread across the Internet and made its way out of the mouths of politicians.
Several lawmakers have decried the sentence as too lenient. The former student, Brock Turner, was eligible for 14 years in jail. The prosecution had recommended six years behind bars. What's more, Turner, will likely only serve half his six-month sentence, a common reduction for county inmates who maintain a record of good behavior.
A “short sentence sends the wrong message," said representatives from the office of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
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Gillibrand and fellow Democrat, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, have fought for laws that would standardize the method by which college students were disciplined after committing a sexual assault and provide student victims of sexual assault with resources for support.
McCaskill called the six-month sentence, "inappropriate."
And the criticism did not just fall to two Democratic senators who have fought for legislation that would have directly affected the case in Stanford.
Republican Congressman Ted Poe took his criticism a step further.
"There’s an archaic philosophy in some courts that sin ain’t sin as long as good folk do it."
“This judge got it wrong,” Poe said Thursday on the floor of the House. “There’s an archaic philosophy in some courts that sin ain’t sin as long as good folk do it. In this case, the court and the defendant’s father wanted a pass for the rapist because he was a big-shot swimmer. The judge should be removed.”
He's far from the only one who thinks so.
Judge Aaron Persky -- though unopposed in his reelection campaign this year -- is facing a huge and growing recall effort for when he does take the bench again.
More than one million people have signed an online petition calling for Persky to be removed from the bench, although only signatures from those who live in his district would count.
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Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.
