Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Assemblymen Evan Low and Bill Dodd, and State Senator Jerry Hill, hailed the passage today of a state law they co-sponsored creating mandatory prison sentences for certain sexual assaults. The measure was inspired by the Brock Turner case.
The bill, AB 2888, mandates that those convicted of sexually assaulting unconscious or severely intoxicated victims would be sentenced to prison.
“The national awakening about campus sexual assaults started by Emily Doe’s powerful letter continues to grow, changing our minds and our laws,” DA Rosen said. “While prisons are not appropriate for every person convicted of a crime, rapists belong in prison.”
DA Rosen thanked Assemblymen Low, D-Silicon Valley, Dodd, D-Napa, and State Senator Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, for co-sponsoring the bill, and Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. for signing it into law.
Turner was convicted earlier this year of sexually assaulting Emily Doe, as she lay unconscious on the ground after a Stanford fraternity party. Her 12-page letter went internationally viral when a judge gave the Stanford swimmer a six-month jail sentence, widely considered as too lenient.
“I want to thank Governor Brown for his signing AB 2888. This sends the strongest possible message that rape is rape and in California, if you do the crime, you're going to do the time," Assemblymember Low said. "Judge Persky’s ruling was unjustifiable and morally wrong, however, under current state law it was within his discretion.While we can’t go back and change what happened, we have made sure it never happens again.”
“It’s high time that convicted rapists and other perpetrators of sexual assault on unconscious victims be required to serve time behind bars for these crimes,” Senator Hill said. “AB 2888 provides a measure of justice to the assailant and the rape survivor.”
“Sexually assaulting an unconscious or intoxicated victim is a reprehensible crime, and now our laws better reflect that. Sentences like those in the Brock Turner case discourage other survivors from coming forward and sends the message that raping incapacitated victims is no big deal,” Assemblymember Dodd said. “I want to thank Governor Brown and my fellow legislators for standing with victims and building a culture that will help prevent these appalling crimes. Thanks to this law, convicted felons like Brock Turner will no longer be able to avoid state prison.”
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