Biden's 'Furious Anger' Over Stanford Rape

The vice president acknowledges the nation is "not satisfied" with the trial of Brock Turner - eligible for release in September.

Mr Biden says the victim's words are 'forever seared' on his soul

US vice president Joe Biden has written an open letter in support of a rape victim whose attacker at Stanford University received a "lenient" six-month sentence.

The politician, who has been a long-time campaigner on violence against women, commended her courage in reliving the assault through a harrowing witness statement which has caused a national outcry.
The 7,000-word statement gives a compelling account of the crime and its consequences and has been read online by millions of people worldwide since it was released by the district attorney.
In her statement, the 23-year-old victim told her attacker: "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today."

Brock Turner was on a swimming scholarship at Stanford University

In his letter to the victim, published by BuzzFeed, Mr Biden acknowledged the nation was "not satisfied" with the trial of Brock Turner, who will be eligible for release in September after receiving considerably less than the six-year sentence recommended by prosecutors for the assault of the unconscious woman.
"I am filled with furious anger - both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth," Mr Biden wrote.
He also criticised the "callous" remarks made by the rapist's father, who said his son had paid "a steep price … for 20 minutes of action".

The sentence handed to the 20-year-old has prompted a national outcry

The vice president told the anonymous woman: "You were failed by a culture on our college campuses where one in five women is sexually assaulted - year after year after year. A culture that promotes passivity. That encourages young men and women on campuses to turn a blind eye.
"And you were failed by anyone who dared to question this one clear and simple truth: sex without consent is rape. Period. It is a crime."
During a statement to court, addressed to her rapist, the victim had said: "The consequences of sexual assault needs to be severe enough that people feel enough fear to exercise good judgement even if they are drunk, severe enough to be preventative.
"The probation officer weighed the fact that he has surrendered a hard earned swimming scholarship. How fast Brock swims does not lessen the severity of what happened to me, and should not lessen the severity of his punishment.
"If a first time offender from an underprivileged background was accused of three felonies and displayed no accountability for his actions other than drinking, what would his sentence be?"
Pressure has been growing on the judge in the case to reconsider the sentence handed to Turner, which also included three years' probation and a requirement for him to register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.
However, the judge is prohibited from commenting on the case as Turner is appealing the conviction.

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