Ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner shocked the world when he sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, known as Emily Doe, in 2015 and blamed the attack on ‘alcohol’ and ‘party culture’. But it would be Judge Aaron Persky’s decision to sentence the athlete to just six months in jail that would make Brock Turner’s case the most notorious example of rape culture on campus in America. Persky would later defend his verdict in a statement, claiming that ‘the damage is [already] done’, and that ‘a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him’. That prison sentence turned out to be even less severe than we predicted, when Turner was released after just three months of prison for ‘good behaviour.’
Now Turner is back in the news again. On Friday, lawyers working on behalf of the 22 year-old submitted a 172-page brief to California’s 6th District Court of Appeal calling for his conviction to be overturned. A successful appeal would see Turner’s name removed from the sex offenders’ register.
‘What we are saying is that what happened is not a crime,’ said John Tompkins, a member of Turner’s legal team, in an interview with KNTV. But Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen disagrees, telling the New York Times: ‘His conviction will be upheld. Nothing can ever roll back Emily Doe’s legacy of raising the world’s awareness about sexual assault.”
Many have taken to social media to express their anger at the new developments. In a year where sexual harrassment and assault has been exposed in every corner of society, the case is seen by many to confirm that sexual crimes may not be taken as serious as many would hope.
The hearing is expected to start sometime in the new year.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.