Stanford Law Professor Under Fire After Tweeting Anti-Brock Turner Song
PALO ALTO (KPIX 5) -- A Stanford professor was in hot water Thursday after she used social media to share a catchy tune that has lyrics preaching violence against convicted rapist Brock Turner.
With a tweet that has since been deleted, Stanford Law Professor Michele Dauber encouraged her followers to "enjoy" the song targeting Turner, the former Stanford student convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman at a campus party.
The song suggests Turner should live his life as a pariah, shunned and isolated, and seems to relish the idea that he become the victim of violence.
Last week, Turner asked a state appeals court in San Jose to overturn his sexual assault conviction, claiming that his trial was "fundamentally unfair."
Retired Judge LaDoris Cordell says the song's not-so-veiled threats of violence should not be ignored.
"I find that disturbing, horrifying and so inappropriate," said Cordell. "Clearly, she's demonstrated some very poor judgment, but she's not stupid. No one with even a modicum of education would read the lyrics of that song and conclude it's satire and shouldn't be taken seriously."
Professor Dauber, who wouldn't talk on camera Thursday said she doesn't want the song or her tweet to distract from the effort to recall Judge Aaron Persky.
She insists that Judge Persky's six-month sentence for Turner makes him unfit for the bench.
The Recall Persky campaign released a statement Thursday, writing in part: "Our campaign has nothing to do with this song and the now deleted tweet came from Professor Dauber's personal Twitter account."
However, Judge Cordell says the song should be worrying to the recall campaign and those who support it.
"This is basically the tenor of the recall movement. It's been very aggressive, bullying and mean-spirited," said Cordell.
KPIX 5 tried to contact Stanford University officials in regards to Professor Dauber's tweet and the song's apparent advocacy of violence, but the University had no comment.