A group of witches took matters into their own hands following what many have argued was an unfairly lenient sentence for convicted Stanford rapist Brock Turner. Melanie Hexen, a midwife and belly dancer who identifies as a "traditional hereditary witch," put together a "mass hexing" of Turner Tuesday, according toU.S. News and World Report. Though she initially invited her 12 coven sisters, the Facebook event page ultimately ended up with more than 1,000 potential attendees.
"I think it really struck a chord with a lot of women as a way to feel like they had some power in this situation," Hexen told U.S. News. "That there was something they could do, some way they could come together and focus their rage and their need for justice that wasn't being met." Helen also noted that witches putting together spells in situations of injustice is a tradition dating back thousands of years.
Hexen provided an excerpt of the hex, in which she and her coven sisters vow that Turner will be impotent and experience the "constant pain" of pine needles in his guts:
Brock Allen Turner we hex you. You will be impotent. You will know constant pain of pine needles in your guts. Food will bring you no sustenance. In water, your lungs will fail you. Sleep will only bring nightmares. Shame will be your mantle. You will meet justice.
"I'm a really experienced, powerful witch," Hexen added. "I have no doubt that when I cast a hex, it will be successful."
Turner was sentenced to six months in jail and three years' probation for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. That sentence, however, will likely be even shorter than expected. The Associated Pressreported Thursday that Turner will likely be released Sept. 2, three months before his previously scheduled release date.
