Harriet —
It’s happened again. University of Colorado student Austin Wilkerson sexually assaulted an intoxicated freshman after telling his friends he was going to help her home. Wilkerson was convicted of felony sexual assault, that should have resulted in a prison sentence of 4 to 12 years. Instead, District Judge Patrick Butler sentenced him to 20 years to life on probation and 2 years of work release. Many have made comparisons to the Stanford case. Stanford swimmer Brock Turner sexually assaulted an unconscious woman, yet Judge Persky sentenced him to only six months in county jail. The horrible events at Stanford University have put a spotlight on campus rape culture and the unreasonably light sentences we see handed out to offenders. But, this issue is now front-and-center on the national stage. Thank you, |
=Michele Dauber is a Stanford law professor and a sociologist, Michele Landis Dauber has written highly original historical and sociological studies focusing on the history of social provision and the US welfare state. Her first book, The Sympathetic State (2013 University of Chicago Press) received numerous distinguished book awards and prizes including from the American Historical Association, the American Sociological Association, the American Political Science Association, the American Society for Legal History, and the Law and Society Association.