Details on Why the Judge in the Brock Turner Sexual Assault Case Was Cleared of Misconduct
It was revolting enough to learn that ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was released from jail this past September after only serving half of his six-month sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman near a trash bin during a January 2015 incident.
Well, the latest revelation in the case likely won't help relieve your bout of disgust.
On Monday, the California judge presiding over Turner's sexual assault trial was cleared of misconduct allegations.
According to CNN, an independent commission found that Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky didn't show bias towards Turner nor abuse his power when ruling on the former swimmer's six-month jail sentence — one widely viewed as much too lenient given the egregious incident.
"The commission has concluded that there is not clear and convincing evidence of bias, abuse of authority, or other basis to conclude that Judge Persky engaged in judicial misconduct warranting discipline," the commission stated, as reported by CNN. "Accordingly, the participating commission members voted unanimously to close, without discipline, its preliminary investigation of the complaints against the judge regarding his sentencing decision in the Turner case."
Upon learning that Judge Persky was cleared of any alleged misconduct, waves of people took to Twitter and Instagram to share their disappointment with the decision and the overall Turner case.
Following the outrage from Persky's slap-on-the-wrist sentencing and early release of Turner, the longtime judge excused himself from a child pornography case and removed himself from criminal court in September.
"We will continue to proceed with the recall election as it is important for Santa Clara County voters to decide whether Judge Persky should remain on the bench," chairwoman of the Recall Persky Campaign, Michele Dauber, said in a statement, as reported by CNN.
Dauber added, "We strongly disagree with the commission's conclusion on judicial bias and we believe that Judge Persky has in fact demonstrated a clear pattern of bias in cases of sex crimes and violence against women."
Turner's father, Dan Turner, infamously sent a letter to the judge, asking him for leniency and for his son not to be incarcerated for the full 10 years he was originally facing, heinously reasoning that it "is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action."
Brock Turner officially registered as a sex offender this past September following his release from jail.
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