Lenient Sentence in Rape Case.
WALKER: A slap on the wrist. That's what many are calling the six- month jail sentence given to a former Stanford University student. The star swimmer was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus. The victim read a letter in court describing the pain the instant has caused her. Isha Sesay takes us inside the case.</s>ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A terrible crime compounded by its aftermath. Outrage over a sentence some feel is too lenient. The case, highlighting questions of liability, punishment, and American society's attitude toward sexual assault. On Thursday, former Stanford student Brock Turner, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment after being convicted on three felony assault charges. The prosecution had sought a sentence of six years. The woman was unconscious at the time she was assaulted on the university campus. The incident occurred after a party during which both had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol. Turner will also be placed on the sex offender's register for life. His victim spoke out in a statement read at sentencing. Earlier, CNN's Ashley Banfield read part of that statement on the Legal View. "One day I was at work, scrolling through the news. On my phone and I came across an article. In it, I read and learned for the first time about how I was found unconscious, with my hair disheveled, long necklace wrapped around my neck, bra pulled out of my dress, dress pulled off over my shoulders, and pulled up above my waist, that I was butt naked all the way down to my boots, legs spread apart, and had been penetrated by a foreign object by someone I did not recognize." "I learned what happened to me the same time everyone else in the world learned what happened to me."</s>SESAY: Brock Turner's father has further filled anger surrounding the case, penning a letter to the judge in which he states, "His life will never be the one he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20-plus years of life." Social media reaction has been vitriolic. With many questioning why Turner's father would depict his son as a victim of the incident. And the prosecution has also condemned the apparent leniency of the sentence. District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, "The sentence does not factor in the true seriousness of the sexual assault or the victim's ongoing trauma. Campus rape is no different than off-campus rape. Rape is rape." While Brock Turner denies he committed rape, his victim only became aware of the assault when she woke up in the hospital and was asked to sign papers marked rape victim before being allowed to shower. Stanford University has expressed regret over what happened, but in a statement claimed it had done everything in its power to ensure justice in the case. "This was a horrible incident, and we understand the anger and deep emotion it has generated. There is still much work to be done, not just here, but everywhere, to create a culture that does not tolerate sexual violence in any form, and a judicial system that deals appropriately with sexual assault cases." Isha Sesay, CNN, Los Angeles.</s>WALKER: For more on this case, we turn now to CNN legal analyst, Philip Holloway who is a criminal defense attorney. All right. I want to get your reaction. You know, there's been so much outrage I'll be seeing on Twitter, online. Six months of a sentence for this Stanford swimmer who sexually assaulted a woman who was unconscious. Six months. What do you think? Too lenient?</s>PHILIP HOLLOWAY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think the sentence is unconscionable. But almost as unconscionable is what the district attorney was asking for, which was six years to serve. You know, in many states, in fact, in the State of Georgia where I practice one could theoretically get the death penalty for this type of assault. So, the fact that the judge only had six years to work with is bad enough, but that he only gave six months to serve is an outright miscarriage of justice.</s>WALKER: Yes, right. So, you're saying the prosecutor was asking for six years, the judge only gives six months of a sentence. What exactly does the judge take into account, you know, to give a sentence like this?</s>HOLLOWAY: Judges theoretically are supposed to take into account any aggravating factors and any mitigating factors. Now those things that would tend to put the Senate higher and things that might tend to pull it lower. For example, the lack of criminal history. But specifically the facts of the case generally play the most important role. And I cannot imagine any set of facts involving sexual assault, as I understand them to be in this case, that would justify merely a six months' sentence. I don't care who you are, or in what state you live, this is an absolute inappropriate sentence.</s>WALKER: And a lot of angry people. Almost 100,000 people have signed this petition online and they're calling for the judge to be recalled over this. Your thoughts?</s>HOLLOWAY: On that issue, ironically, I think that the judge should not be recalled. I think the judge can answer for it certainly at the next election when he stands for re-election. But judges as a general rule, should not be bound by public opinion to sentence someone in any particular way either more harshly or more lenient. They should be allowed the discretion to do what they feel is right without bending to public pressure. That said, the sentence is wrong and I think the judge will have to answer for this, but he should answer for it in his regular election, not a special election.</s>WALKER: You really have to feel for the family and especially this poor woman who went through what she did. Is there any other legal recourse for her?</s>HOLLOWAY: She has no legal recourse whatsoever when it comes to sentencing. For him, he plans to appeal the sentence and the conviction, but for the victim, she's going to live with this for the rest of her life one way or the other, no matter what happens with the defendant's appeal.</s>WALKER: And just to clarify, in the United States, state by state, of course all the laws vary and you're saying California seems to have, I guess maybe not a stronger code when it comes to sentencing when it comes to sexual assaults.</s>HOLLOWAY: This is something that the California legislature should take a long look at, do some soul-searching, if you will, to decide how they collectively feel sexual assault should be penalized in the State of California.</s>WALKER: Good to have you on, Philip Holloway. I appreciate your time and expertise on this. Thanks.</s>HOLLOWAY: You bet. Any time.</s>WALKER: We want to bring you an update now on the breaking news story out of Turkey. A bomb blast in Istanbul has killed 11 people and injured 36 more. Reports say a remotely detonated car bomb targeted a police bus during the morning rush hour. Seven police officers are among the dead. We'll be right back.