1.2 Million Signatures Call For Stanford Sex Assault Judge's Recall
PALO ALTO (KCBS) -- A petition with 1.2 million signatures calling for the recall of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky is set to be delivered by activists in response to the sentence he gave a former Stanford after he was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.
The San Jose Mercury News reports the signatures are from a change.org petition. and will be handed over to the Superior Court administration on Monday at noon.
The activists are objecting to Brock Turner's sentencing, which many perceive as being too lenient. While prosecutors pushed for a six-year sentence, Judge Persky chose a lighter sentence due to Turner's previously clean record, and the potential impact a heavier sentence could have on Turner's future.
Turner will serve three months in jail, register as a sex offender, and has also withdrawn from Stanford, where he had a swimming scholarship.
While Persky has received heavy criticism internationally over the sentence, including a recall attempt by a Stanford law professor, he has drawn support from lawyers and the California Judges Association, who do not want judges to be pressured into decisions by public opinion.
