Opinion: #MeToo, Persky and erosion of mercy in criminal justice

Article here. Excerpt:

'Santa Clara County voters recently recalled Judge Aaron Persky, the judge who sentenced Stanford student Brock Turner to six months in jail to be followed by three years’ probation and lifetime sex offender registration.

As a public defender, I do not see this as a victory for justice. As a feminist, I do not see this as a victory for civil rights.

The #MeToo movement is – perhaps unintentionally – pushing mercy out of the courtroom and replacing it with spite.
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By advocating for removal of judges willing to exhibit leniency like Persky but backing behavior of judges like Aquilina , #MeToo advocates support a culture in which judges are more focused on satisfying public appetite for vengeance than carefully crafting an appropriate and fair sentence for each unique case.

Effects of the Persky recall will be felt by the people who make up the majority of accused people in our criminal courts – poor people, people of color, people who are not afforded the opportunities that I and so many of us had while growing up.'