SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — Former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman earlier this year, was released from jail Friday morning, CNN reports.

Turner, 21, served only half of his six-month sentence in the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose, California.

Critics have scoffed at the judge’s controversial ruling, calling it a “slap on the wrist.” The case sparked a nationwide debate on how the justice system treats victims of sexual assault.

A Santa Clara County jury found Turner guilty in March on three felony accounts: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person.

Turner is expected to return to his hometown in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio.