I edited Brock Allen Turner's simpering letter to the court.

An article from Business Insider came across my Facebook feed recently, republishing a letter Brock Allen Turner, convicted felon and rapist, wrote to plead the court for (I can only assume) a more lenient sentence.

While he certainly got that, while reading over his letter, I noted he missed some important details and had an awful lot of "I" and "me" statements for a rapist. I'm an editor and strive to provide the most information possible to my audience, so considering the lengths to which this letter will reach and how it may actually strike a chord in some, here's my attempt to fill it in.

(Some parts I had to just plain strike out because... really. He said it. Without a shred of irony.)

The night of January 17th changed my victim's life forever. I can never go back to being the person I was before that day, but I will always be a rapist. I am no longer a swimmer, a student, a resident of California, or the product of the work that I put in to accomplish the goals that I set out in the first nineteen years of my life never mind; quite frankly, no one should care, as I brought this on myself. Not only have I altered my life by raping an innocent woman and getting caught in the act, but I’ve also changed [redacted] and her family’s life. I am the sole proprietor of what happened on the night that my victim's life changed forever. I would give anything to change what happened that night. I can never forgive myself for raping [redacted].

It debilitates me to think that my actions have caused her emotional and physical stress by unwarrantedly and unfairly forcing myself on an innocent woman. The thought of this is in my victim's head every second of every day since this event has occurred. These ideas never leave her mind. During the day, she shakes uncontrollably from the amount she torment herself by thinking about what has happened. I wish I had the ability to go back in time and never raped [redacted]. She can barely hold a conversation with someone without having her mind drift into thinking these thoughts. They torture her. She goes to sleep every night having been crippled by these thoughts to the point of exhaustion. She wakes up having dreamt of these horrific events that I have caused. I am completely consumed by my poor judgment and ill thought actions. There isn’t a second that has gone by where I haven’t regretted forcing myself onto [redacted] (and moreover, where I haven't regretted getting caught).

Because of my actions, her shell and core of who she is as a person is forever broken from this. She is a changed person because of me. At this point in my life, and if I ever have any hope of changing my actions, I never want to have a drop of alcohol again. I never want to attend a social gathering that involves alcohol or any situation where people make decisions based on the substances they have consumed rape or force myself onto anyone. I never want to experience being in a position where it will have a negative impact on my life or someone else’s life ever again. I’ve lost two jobs solely based on the reporting of my case, as I well should have, as I am a danger to society. I wish I never was good at swimming or had the opportunity to attend Stanford, so maybe the newspapers wouldn’t want to write stories about me. I'm having my own pity party because I was caught in an act that, if I am truly reformed, I will never do again.

All I can do from these events moving forward is not rape anyone. I know that if I were to serve my sentence to the fullest extent allowable by the law, I would be able to be a benefit to society for the rest of my life, or at least would not be stupid enough to do this again. I want to earn a college degree in any capacity that I am capable to do so my victim to lead a normal life, too. And in accomplishing this task, I can make the people around me and society better through the example I will set by not raping anyone and teaching others that rapists, and not their victims, are to blame.

I’ve been a goal oriented person since my start as a swimmer and by believing anything in front of me is mine for the taking. I want to take what I can from who I was before this situation happened and use it to the best of my abilities moving forward. I know I can show people who were like me the dangers of assuming rapists do not come from affluence or that I am entitled to a woman's body. I want to show that people’s lives can be destroyed by people who commit rape, and that I have effectively destroyed a woman's life by raping her. One needs to recognize the influence that peer pressure and the attitude of having to fit in can have on someone. One decision has the potential to change your entire life.

I know I can impact and change people’s attitudes towards rape culture that protrudes through what people think is at the core of being a rapist or rape apologist. I want to demolish the assumption that victims of rape are to blame, and my decisions hurt someone because I, and I alone, committed them against another innocent person. But I never ever meant to intentionally hurt [redacted]... well, no, I never meant to get caught. My poor decision making and belief I would not get caught in the act of raping someone hurt someone that night and I wish I could just take it all back.

If I were to serve my sentence to the fullest extent allowable by the law, I can positively say, without a single shred of doubt in my mind, that I would never rape anyone again (or, at least, not be caught again). Before this happened, I never had any trouble with law enforcement (because, you know... I was likely never caught or effectively had a slap on the wrist) and I plan on maintaining that. My victim has been shattered because I am a rapist. I’ve lost my chance to swim in the Olympics because I am a rapist. I’ve lost my ability to obtain a Stanford degree because I am a rapist. I’ve lost employment opportunity, my reputation and most of all, my life because... you guessed it, I am a rapist. These things force me to consider my actions, face my sentence with my head held high, and offer my sincere apologies and retributions to my victim.

I would make it my life’s mission to show everyone that rape happens because RAPISTS RAPE, not because of anything the victim did or will do. I will never rape anyone again, which will ultimately be a betterment to society. I want no one, male or female, to have to experience the destructive consequences of rapists raping them, or their family members, or friends, or any other human being, regardless of affiliation. I want to be a voice of reason in a time where people’s attitudes and preconceived notions about rape and rape culture have already been established. I want to let young people now, as I did not, that things can go from fun to ruined in just one night if you commit a felony and rape someone.

There... that's better.