There are so many aspects in this to consider. Turner’s sentence was literally the bare minimum, and only achieved by the judge ignoring the violent and sexual nature of the multiple felonies he was convicted of. (Like straight up, that’s a part of the rules that one oughtn’t replace jail with probation in these…

Actual handed-down sentences average ten years. And the point of looking at the sentencing law is that the judge misapplied the law. CA just revamped their sentencing laws to break the draconian mandatory minima that have been crippling its judicial system. This fairly new sentencing structure gives judges a lot of…

The leeway Persky had is based on laws that are rolling back/phasing out the Three Strikes bullshit. How that crap doesn’t violate the 6th or the 8th, I dunno. Then again, SCOTUS just decided that evidence from illegal searches is permissible in court, so it’s not like the 4th is holding up either. Anyway the new law…

The world would be so much simpler if people weren’t so f*cking complex. Like the story about how Adam Levine got permission to pay for Christina Grimmie’s funeral. I’d comfortably written him off as a douche canoe years ago, and then he goes and does something so decent and compassionate. Just shocked.

It makes me think she was severely abused as a child. Look at her word choice during the breakdown, it reads as very juvenile. Between this outburst, the old ED, her son’s current age (child rearing can cause flashbacks for child abuse victims, typically back to when the parent was their child’s current age), apparent…

She was trying to suss out whether you were being abused by your husband. Withdrawal from social activities is a warning sign, as is physical injury. Those can and do happen for tons of other reasons, like in your case, but this neighbor was trying to have your back.

I dunno. “Private parts” seems like a really odd phrase for an adult to use, especially one who is on a substance-fueled outburst. Her wording seems like that of a young child. It sounds like a flashback to me, like she’s describing something that happened when she was a child, like the age her son is. One of the…

I’m concerned about expanding the “terrorist watch list” powers too. I thought the “on the watch list and still can legally buy a gun” argument was presented as a reductio, and to have people focus on fixing just the last step utterly misses the point.

No one on the sites I visit has claimed that the judge is in error for not presenting Turner’s head or balls on a silver plate to the public. Not one of the petitions I’ve signed has insinuated this either. Dude could have gotten three years, and I wouldn’t have been thrilled, but I wouldn’t have been outraged. Turner…

Then let’s start paying closer attention to cases were POC are given average to beyond sentences for their convictions. I’m willing to throw down for that too. Because the problem is racist/sexist/classist prejudices that inform the sentencing, no matter which way the needle sways. No one I’ve seen here is calling for…

The Persky defenders are setting up a false dichotomy though. The average jail sentence for penetrative sexual assault in CA is 10-ish years. The sentencing guidelines cap at twelve, and three and six years are offered as lower options. The DA recommended six, already below average, possibly related to assumptions…

I’m heartened to see several former colleagues have signed on.

It’s a great way to keep making it all about them. They can’t handle their guilt about how their misogyny actually affects real human lives. I want to staple this story to each of their heads with a tattoo that says, “I am responsible for this.”

My first thought was, “Damn Japan! Get inside! Geez.”

Room with a View... Of Hell!! Staircase of Stain! Pond of Death.

There’s no good way to find out that one’s father (or any other relative) is a sexual predator. The question here isn’t whether the BiL is a predator, it’s how many people is he preying on. I agree that “Has your father been raping you?” is not a productive opening; it’s more likely to shut the niece down regardless…

That’s how these predators work, by isolating, belittling and shaming. And we will take them down by standing together and exposing them for the vampires they are. You aren’t alone.

Then where’s the fun of being a nationally syndicated advice columnist if you can’t stop every once in a while and shame an advice-seeker for having been victimized? Seriously, can we send Abby an “advice” write up about how she should have kept her fool-mouth shut? But since she hasn’t managed that, here’s Judith…

A similar fear has crossed my mind- we’ve seen how racism has helped obstruct the proper functioning of government for the last 8 years, I can’t see how misogyny is gonna be easier to combat.