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Brock Turner's 6-month sentence for Stanford sexual assault may be cut in half

Brock Turner’s mug shot. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, via Diana Prichard

The six-month jail sentence of Brock Turner, the former Stanford student who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, triggered a lot of outrage — with critics arguing the weak sentence shows that rape and sexual assault on college campuses isn't taken seriously by the legal system.

Well, it's about to get worse: Multiple media outlets, from the Washington Post to Mic, report that Turner's sentence may only be three months.

The news comes from a look at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, which said on its website that Turner will be released on September 2, three months after his booking.

Brock Turner will be released after three, not six, months. County of Santa Clara, via Mic

Reached for comment, sheriff's spokesperson James Jensen told the Washington Post, "That date was given to us by the court system." He explained that inmates typically serve half their sentences, barring bad behavior. If there are disciplinary problems, the court system can just bump up the sentence to its full length.

The result: Turner's six-month sentence will very likely be a three-month sentence.


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