Honestly, he was 19 years old. He was drunk, she was drunk. Everyone was drunk. What is the point of ruining his life like this? Kicking him out of a TOP school AND handing him a felony he'll carry for the rest of his life on his record? [Portion removed.]

You have got to be kidding. He is an adult. He had forced sex with an unconscious women. That is Rape. He should be punished.

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Very sad to see this happening.
They are smart students yet this 'drinking' has become a culture in college more on the east coast than west coast.

There should be consequences for forcing upon some one.

That's all I say. Ruined two lives. Life's lesson.

Smart people learn from others mistakes. Not so smart/Dumb people learn from their own.

Regards

Educate yourselves on the characteristics of a sexual predator. They look for or create opportunities to victimize. Those of you wanting to excuse this because of the drinking and clothes she may have been wearing are reveling yourselves as potential predators. Why "ruin" his life you say? She was agreeing you say because of her "gestures" "body language" and "mood or environment". So if we follow that delusional logic anyone who attends a party, and is enjoying themselves laughing or talking with friends having a drink is basically saying, in your opinion, "I want to have sex with anyone who wants to take advantage of me". [Portion removed.]

It is so disgusting to here anyone trying to justify the actions of this guy in sexually assaulting this young women. Yes he should be expelled and put in jail! He should have thought of his "career" before taking advantage of someone's in a vulnerable state. [Portion removed.]

I decided to observe the proceedings as I am considering beoming a SART nurse. I was embarrassed and appalled by the SART nurse's testimony, an alleged expert in this field. She kept referring to the peritoneum. The peritoneum is the lining of the abdominal cavity that holds the "guts" in. She should have been saying PERINEUM which is the term for the female anatomy. To hear an expert mispronounce an anatomical term repeatedly certainly lowered her credibilty.
She then described the culposcope as a camera. It is a microscope, not a camera. She also struggled to explain nuclei, epidermis and dermis; she came across as biased. She struggled to spell terms/findings/medications that she has used for many years, she was not credible. [Portion removed.] I also noted the DA was leading her to make statements which was disturbing. One superficial abrasion was stated to be "significant trauma"? [Portion removed.]
I am not judging the alleged victim or the alleged assailant. This SART nurse's testimony has certainly opened my eyes to our criminal justice system which seems quite flawed.

I suppose the victim blaming is to be expected. Still sad though.

In an earlier article here it was noted that the defense's attorney stated that Turner was the ONLY person who knew everything that happened that night and could testify in detail about that. So I'm having trouble with the "he was really drunk" angle. If his memory is crystal clear, it sounds like he knew what he was doing. Wheras she was, by all accounts, unconscious. I'm not sure why people struggle with what led up to this incident - her dress, her purported flirting (sorry, but where exactly is that on record as happening anyway?) She was unconscious, unconscious, unconscious.

One of the things I'll be teaching my son, when he is old enough, is to be like the guys on the bikes who alerted police. Not the guy who takes advantage of an unconscious woman. You can't get/give consent when you are unconscious. Plain and simple.

All that said, I feel awful for all involved. Especially the parents of both parties. I can't imagine what it would be like to be either set. I would very much like to believe my son would never be involved in something like this. Maybe they thought that too. Best thing I can do is educate and teach.

Why do rape shield laws only protect the woman, but the man's name is splashed all over the place. He has been punished, before he has been convicted. Remember the Duke lacrosse or the UVA fiascos, where the men were convicted in the court of public opinion, but the women, who lied, were fully protected?

The rape shaming and victim blaming comments in this thread are some if most abhorrent jce ever read.

"Stanford students who have or may have been sexually assaulted and would like to receive a sexual assault forensic examination and evidence collection kit can request to be seen by a nurse at Valley Medical. Evidence collection is not done at the university's Vaden Health Center nor at Stanford University Medical Center." Why not??

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Hey @Brock - you might have had a chance with the affluenza defense, then the state of the victim wouldn't matter. A blame-the-victim defense is going to earn you a long prison sentence, which I guarantee will not be pleasant for you.

Affluence (or lack of) doesn't have a place in this conversation, unless you're Kobe Bryant. Since when does posting quick bail (only 10% required) make one affluent in this day of home equity lines of credit, credit card credit, etc.?? Stop the blaming and shaming and let the truth come out in court, provided everyone plays by the book.

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I was at first in agreement with the first poster; "they were both drunk and young"... why ruin lives? Then I checked myself -- dudes... as much as I loved getting drunk and hooking-up when I was ~20, I simply can't imagine having sex with a girl who is passed out. I knew guys like that when I was younger, they prayed on vulnerable super-drunk girls. If his excuse is that he was too drunk to know what was going on, i dont buy it. We all have an internal voice that should tell us to stop, no matter how drunk we are. If you dont have this voice, well then that's why you're sitting in front of a group of 12 of your peers who will deliberate your future for you.