At least 10 prospective jurors in Stanford rape Judge Aaron Persky’s courtroom have refused to serve on an unrelated case over their opposition to his ruling.
“I can’t be here, I’m so upset,” one prospective juror said to Persky as lawyers were selecting members of the jury for a stolen property case, according to a Mercury News report on Thursday.
Another juror specifically referenced the Stanford case before being excused from duty by the judge.
“I can’t believe what you did,” the prospective juror said.
Persky’s ruling over the Stanford case — which sentenced convicted rapist Brock Turner to six months in jail with probation, despite calls from prosecutors for at least six years — has been widely been criticized.
Turner had been convicted on three felony counts: intent to commit rape, sexual penetration with a foreign object of an intoxicated person and sexual penetration with a foreign object of an unconscious person.
Persky justified his ruling by saying that a longer prison sentence would have a “severe impact” on Turner, and that he would not be a danger to others.
More than 922,000 people have also signed a change.org petition calling on the removal of Persky from the bench.
But given that judicial recalls typically only occur in cases of illegal activity, and that Persky won re-election yesterday when the contest was canceled over a lack of challengers, it’s unlikely that the controversial jurist will be recalled, as TheWrap reported on Wednesday.