Earlier today I came across an opinion piece by Pryad Murad a public defender. She attempted to defend judge Aaron Persky who recently got recalled.
Persky is the judge who put himself in the national spotlight for his lenient sentence of Brock Turner.
For me it was difficult to read the entire argument, yet I did. Pryad argues that “I do not see this as a victory for justice. As a feminist, I do not see this as a victory for civil rights.” She also said “The #MeToo movement is – perhaps unintentionally – pushing mercy out of the courtroom and replacing it with spite.”
Murad is right there is no victory for justice, cause the system failed the victim from the start. Turner is no the victim here. Do we really need celebrities such as Amber Heard to read the powerful letter written by Emily Doe, the victim? How about getting the sentencing right from the get go?
Cause if there was Turner is in jail still. unfortunately for Doe she will never really get justice, yet with the recall of Persky it is somewhat of a victory. He will never get the opportunity to hand down a similar sentence to a rapist.
It also shows that the public will demand a deserved sentence for those who rape especially when the victim is unconscious. Judges now will realize that they need to think long and hard about their for the decision. Persky’s was laughable.
As for Turner he didn’t deserve any mercy and having the judge recalled had nothing to do with spite. The public perceived him as incompetent therefore he needed to go.
I also disagree with this statement from Murad “it sends a message to the judiciary that any leniency will get punished.” It actually doesn’t. What it showcases is that if a judge is lenient towards a rapist repercussions will follow. Obviously like Persky the media will be all over it as well. Also, in what world does a rapist deserve leniency especially one that is heinous?
Murad also mentions another judge this one presiding over the Larry Nassar case. She believes that judge Rosemarie Aquilina got praised for comments she made about him. When the reality is she got called out of some of the words she used.
The truth here is that the victim never got justice for her rape, Persky failed to do his job and as a result he lost it and deservedly so. For Murad there’s really nothing to defend.