Congress

Protesters Seek ‘Pink Slip' For Embattled Judge

The pressure is mounting to unseat a local judge.

A women's advocacy group is now joining the push against Judge Aaron Persky.

Members of UltraViolet rallied in front of the state building in San Francisco Wednesday, where the state's judicial commission was meeting. Persky has not provided justice for survivors of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence, protesters claimed.

Persky gave what many claim was a lenient six-month sentence to former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, who sexually assaulted a fellow student near a dumpster outside a fraternity party in 2015.

The group delivered oversized pink slips to the commission that said “Notice of termination for Judge Persky.”

Their signs also accused Persky of “protecting perpetrators, not survivors."

Demonstrators also gave formal complaints to members of the commission, calling on Persky’s removal, and read part of a letter penned by the victim, who has been identified only as Jane Doe.

"If you think I was spared, came out unscathed, that today I ride off into sunset, while you suffer the greatest blow, you are mistaken. Nobody wins," Doe wrote in the letter, addressed to Turner. It was also read aloud in Congress.

“As you know, it’s the letter from Jane Doe that galvanized the nation to stand up against sexual assault, and against normalizing and excusing that kind of behavior from a perpetrator like Brock Turner,” said Adam Blink, the campaign director of UltraViolet. “So reading that out loud will help draw attention to the case.”

The commission, however, does not have the ability to take action against Persky.

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