Judge Aaron Persky: 253,000 Signatures On Change.org For Removal Of Former Stanford Athlete [Video]

The petition titled “Remove Judge Aaron Persky from the Bench For Decision in Brock Turner rape case” is gaining a lot of signatures on Change.org in the wake of the Turner case going viral. As of this writing, the petition that calls for the removal of Judge Persky from the bench has gained more than 253,000 signatures.

As reported by the Inquisitr, people were outraged when Judge Persky sentenced Brock to a mere six months in jail for three counts of sexual assault. Further outrage occurred when Turner’s mugshot from the night of his arrest and Brock’s other booking photo was not released until Monday, June 6 and only after considerable pressure from the media.

Brock’s case is being called a case of white privilege and favor due to Turner’s class and status that would not be afforded a minority facing the same plight involving sexual assault. The 20-year-old is facing a firestorm of backlash from those who want Turner to serve a steeper sentence in the wake of the decision handed down by Judge Persky.

As reported in the above video from Today, further outrage that Judge Persky’s lenient sentence means Brock might only spend three months instead of six months in jail has caused the Change.org petition to surge with more signatures. The mounting controversy over Judge Persky’s light sentence against Brock, a former Stanford University swimming star, has folks looking deeper into the background of Judge Persky himself.

Today reports that Judge Persky is also a former Stanford University athlete, a fact that might have colored Judge Persky’s sentence against Brock, causing Persky to give Turner a light sentence as a result. Now, Judge Persky is coming under fire for treating Brock with kid gloves, and Turner’s dad is also facing plenty of heat for his choice of words in the letter (seen below) to the judge.

Dan Turner wrote to Judge Persky that Brock was so upset over the rape case that Turner couldn’t even eat his favorite steaks and enjoy the hearty appetite that Turner used to enjoy prior to his arrest for sexual assault. Dan eventually apologized for his bad choice of words, in calling Brock’s mistake a steep price to pay for only “20 minutes of action” during the rape in comparison to Brock’s more than 20 years on this earth.

As expected, the delay in the release of the booking photo from the Santa Clara County Sheriff as seen above, coupled with Brock’s light sentence from a fellow former Stanford University judge, has caused a furor in the public’s reaction.

The unconscious woman who Brock sexually assaulted penned a poignant letter that went viral.

RAPE CULTURE: Brock Turner's dad is sad he only got "20 minutes of action" & doesn't even like eating steaks anymore pic.twitter.com/eQswM8Lb11

— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) June 5, 2016

Now the Change.org petition against Judge Persky is going viral as well.

“We the people would like to petition that Judge Aaron Persky be removed from his judicial position for the lenient sentence he allowed in the Brock Turner rape case. Despite a unanimous guilty verdict, three felony convictions, the objections of 250 Stanford students, Jeff Rosen the district attorney for Santa Clara, as well as the deputy district attorney who likened Turner to ‘a predator searching for prey,’ Judge Persky allowed the lenient sentence suggested by the probation department. Turner has shown no remorse and plans to attempt to overturn his conviction. Judge Persky failed to see that the fact that Brock Turner is a white male star athlete at a prestigious university does not entitle him to leniency. He also failed to send the message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class, race, gender or other factors. Please help rectify this travesty to justice.”

[Photo by Santa Clara County Sheriff via AP Images]