An Open Letter To The Stanford Rape Case Judge

An Open Letter To The Stanford Rape Case Judge pixabay.com Sure, sentencing a young boy to years in prison wouldnt be the most fulfilling aspect of your job description, but that doesnt mean you simply dont do it. On a day that an innocent, broken down victim looked to you, trusted you, relied on you to do the right thing by her, on a day that America as a whole, looked to you to do exactly what needed to be done, you fell short. No, thats too forgiving. If Im being completely honest, you failed completely. And heres why: For one thing, rape is a serious crime thats all too often disregarded by our judicial system. Lack of proof and gray areas are just some of the reasons certain rape cases will never even make it to trial, while simple fear of reliving such a traumatic experience prevents even more victims from even reporting the crime. And what youve done in your sentencing does nothing but reiterate this concern to victims everywhere. What youve told victims is that their voice does not matter. Youve told them that their traumatic experiences, their recovery from this experience, and their fear something that oftentimes lasts the rest of their lives doesnt require justice to be served. Youve told them, and everyone else in the country, that a college athlete is above the law. What do you think the repercussions are going to be? You think that rapes are going to decrease now? You think that perpetrators are going to be afraid to commit this crime? Certainly not. All youve done is shown rapists the repercussions for their crimes arent going to be taken seriously. All youve done is taken away hope from victims and given it to their perpetrators. Whether purposely or not, this is what youve done. Let me fill you in on something that needs to be heard, not just by you, but by the entire system: athletes are not above the law. Athletes are people. And if theyve committed a crime, theyre a criminal. Their swimming time no longer applies their crimes do. A football player that murdered his wife is a murderer. A basketball player that robbed a bank is a thief. An Olympic gymnast that smuggles drugs, but that brought home the gold medal three times for the U.S., is still a smuggler. To put it into perspective for those that dont understand: athleticism does not make you immune to the law when you commit a crime. It just makes you an athletic criminal. I understand that the Stanford student was young. I understand he had a bright future ahead of him. But his actions are no ones fault but his own. One person, and one person alone ruined his future: him. Not sentencing a criminal because youre afraid of what it will do to them is laughably ignorant. Sure, this kid will come out mentally more stable than perhaps he would have otherwise. So what? What of the victims around the world who were silenced by your decision? All youve done is exchanged the well-being of one criminal for the well-being of innumerable innocents. As difficult as it is to be a judge to hand out sentences in the hopes that they are correct its astounding that such an unforgivable crime receives nothing more than a slap on the wrist. For the rape victims everywhere that are too scared to speak up, you are doing them no favors. Nobody should be put through this, and by handing out a light sentence, in a way, you are condoning this behavior if youre of a certain social status, or if youre an athlete. Its time to make a stand, to make an example out of someone that many would believe untouchable, but you instead did nothing to help the cause. Rape victims shouldnt have to go through such trials for such a minimizing outcome. This is exactly why victims arent speaking out against their assailants theyve been shown time and time again that their pain and suffering do not matter. That its their own fault, that even if they come forward, nothing is going to come from it. Its a sad reality, and thats exactly why now is the time for a change, and what better way to start than at the top? If you wont make an example of such privileged assailants who have no remorse, then we as a public have decided to make an example of you. The time for change is now no more waiting around for a change that we cant go on without. In the wake of this crime, youve let us down. And in all honesty, you wont be the last to do so. But we wont be silenced. We have a voice. The victim of this crime has a voice. And we are all going to start being heard. Like I said, its a time for change, whether the judicial system is ready or not. So thank you for your awful decision. Thank you because its made the rest of us stronger. Its brought light to an issue otherwise ignored. Thank you for your ignorance. Its made us stronger.