The mother of the former Stanford University student athlete who got a relatively light sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman---triggering a nationwide firestorm about the role that wealth and privilege plays in the American legal system---wrote a letter that begged the judge for mercy in sentencing her son.
“I beg of you, please don’t send him to jail/prison,” wrote Carleen Turner, the mother of Brock Turner, wrote to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who eventually handed him a six-month sentence. “Look at him. He won’t survive it.”
The mother said she feared Brock, 20, would become a “major target” because he’s required to register as a sex offender and also due to the widespread publicity and scorn the case has generated.
“Stanford boy, college kid, college athlete—all the publicity—this would be a death sentence for him,” Carleen Turner wrote. “Having lost everything he ever worked for his entire life and knowing the registry is a requirement for the rest of his life certainly is more than harsh.”
