9 reasons to be concerned about Jerry Sandusky’s jury
Will Jerry Sandusky, with attorney Joe Amendola, get help from jury? (Centre Daily Times)
It would have been difficult to go anywhere in the U.S. and find 12 jurors who knew nothing about former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky and the ugly child molestation allegations against him. But the potential problems of holding the trial in small-townish Centre County, Pa., were reaffirmed in the last two days.
The 16 jurors (including four alternates) have been selected from a pool of 220. Here’s the scary math: nine of the 16 have direct ties to Penn State and three have ties to key witnesses.
Prosecutors attempted to get a change of venue for the trial. They believed selecting jurors from a pool in a county with a population of just over 150,000 — by comparison, Fulton County is about 950,000 — could be problematic. As horrible a crime as child molestation is, anybody who had direct or indirect connections — or allegiances — with Penn State, Sandusky or defense witnesses might have a difficult time believing the 40 felony counts of deviate sexual intercourse against Sandusky.
It takes only one person to hang a juror.
Here’s a look at some of the 16 jurors, via the Patriot News:
• Juror 2: A 24-year-old who plans to start school at Penn State in the fall. His father worked at the university for 30 years.
• Juror 3: Her husband is a physician who worked with Mike McQueary’s father and her family has held season tickets for several years. McQueary is the assistant coach who claimed to see Sandusky with a youth in the shower.
• Juror 7: A male who is a Penn State rising senior who played for a high school football coach who hired Sandusky as a volunteer assistant. He also works for the Penn State athletic department part time and came to court wearing a PSU archery shirt.
• Juror 8: A man who is a retired Penn State professor.
• Juror 10: A woman who works at Penn State as an administrative assistant.
• Juror 11: A woman who is an education instructor of dance at the school. Also, her husband works as a media information specialist at the school.
• Juror 12: A woman professor who also has worked on committees with past and current university presidents.
• Juror 13 (alternate): She is a Penn State graduate.
• Juror 15 (alternate): He walked into court and smiled at Sandusky. Graduate of Penn State. Also a football fan.
Now, I will admit it’s not fair to assume that somebody would look the other way if presented with evidence against Sandusky, just because they’re a Penn State booster. But I think it’s just as fair to be concerned that at least one might be close-minded when it comes to analyzing evidence and testimony.
This isn’t about what’s right or wrong, it’s just the reality of the situation. We’ve seen enough trials in the past that went one way even though the evidence clearly went the other. There’s reason to be concerned that a fair and impartial jury has been seated.
The trial begins Monday the judge
By Jeff Schultz
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143 comments Add your comment
atlmom
June 6th, 2012
8:55 pm
chappy: I’ve been posting around these parts for *years* with this name. And went to penn state, but am not a blogger of anything (except sometimes politics and sometimes cooking, but neither at the moment).
Out for blood is *completely* correct. The alumni are *pissed* and NOT supportive of Sandusky. There are differing views of JoePa at the moment, but he has not been accused on touching boys, so it’s not surprising that most people don’t want him vilified. People are ANGRY that this has happened – not that it became public…PSU’ers want the truth and want people to be prosecuted for crimes.
Graham Spanier was THE MOST POPULAR president in many decades at PSU – and he was out and people thought that was a good call. Again, I don’t like the way JOEPA handled things after things became public and that’s why I agreed with the administration, MANY alumni do not agree with me.
I want the truth, I want people who have committed crimes prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law (and then some if it’s about hurting children). This was not handled well over years of issues. and I hope that changes no matter how that affects the football program. Penn state is SO much more than football, it’s only a small tiny piece of PSU.
Did you know that the largest student run philanthropy comes out of Penn State? They raised over $10 million this year for kids with cancer. But where has that been reported?
Erik
June 6th, 2012
9:11 pm
That part of PA looks more corrupt and crooked with each passing month. Pathetic.
Gloria Y
June 6th, 2012
9:12 pm
Only in America. This trial will be an absolute waste of taxpayers’ money, as well as the time of everyone concerned. Might as well send this pervert home with a slap on the wrist.
Top Dawg
June 6th, 2012
9:24 pm
What about the presumption of innocence, folks?
Reed
June 6th, 2012
9:28 pm
This jury is very much representative of Centre County and if you assume that people who work for Penn State or support PSU sports are on Sandusky’s side, then you don’t know the first thing about our community or how most of us feel about this. There have been a lot of lies written about us with respect to this case. Don’t believe them.
If Sandusky isn’t convicted it will be because the case against him is weak or the prosecution is incompetent. It won’t be because we’re all in the bag for the defendant, because that’s demonstrably untrue.
It was the defense, not.the prosecution, that has been trying to exclude potential jurors with ties to the university.
Penn State is a huge university, just because somebody works there doesn’t mean they’re loyal to a guy who worked in a completely different department until 13 years ago. That’s just not how it works.
Buffoons
June 6th, 2012
9:30 pm
Why are so many of you up in arms over the possibility of a hung jury or the fact Sandusky may be found no guilty?
Not a single one of you has heard one piece of admissible evidence and you are ready to hang Sandusky. The mob mentality is always convenient until it is your spouse/sibling/child/other relation/friend who is on trial.
Suddenly the Constitution is important. The presumption of innocence is dismissed as a bothersome formality. Then it’s your relative on trial.
No one gave a rat’s arse at the unfairness to Sandusky of the pretrial publicity in selecting an unbiased & impartial jury. Now all of a sudden we have decided that tenet of our judicial system is sacred. Ironic, huh?
I’m sure someone’s tapping away furiously in response to the utter gall I must possess. Others will think I’m pro-child molestation. After all, only THOSE perverts would dare to suggest Sandusky be afforded Constituonal protections before we hang the SOB, right?
As an eight year veteran of the Fulton County police department, a former prosecutor and current defense lawyer, all I have left to say is “most of you people scare me”.
Larry
June 6th, 2012
9:33 pm
Jeff,
Unlike the degenerates that acquitted O.J. Simpson despite overwhelming, convincing and indisputable evidence because he and his lead lawyer were black, for example, the people that reside in this area are mostly Pennsylvania Dutch and nowhere on the planet will one find a more fine and decent culture. These people take great pride in their integrity and I haven’t the first doubt they will return a well discussed and deliberated verdict.
These people are too good to let personalities and allegiances interfere with justice.
Buffoons
June 6th, 2012
9:35 pm
Yes. My typing skills stink. I fully realize I mistyped “not guilty” & “Constitutional”.
Sid Bream
June 6th, 2012
10:13 pm
Buffoons, yes we have heard some of the evidence, it was in the media with quotes. Where have you been?
Beast from the East
June 6th, 2012
10:17 pm
You’d better be one bad man to even attempt to hang a juror by yourself.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2012
10:21 pm
The presumption of innocence is the thing that the prosecution must overcome. It hardly applies to spectators.
Beast from the East
June 6th, 2012
10:23 pm
For what it’s worth, I think most PSU loyalists would view Sandusky as a black eye and would love nothing more than to see him rot in jail…out of the public eye.
Drexel Gal
June 6th, 2012
10:32 pm
Joe Paterno died for THIS?
doesn't matter
June 6th, 2012
10:40 pm
not to worry. the horror of raping little boys will trump football allegiance. the guillotine of guilt will pass quickly through the gullet of mssr. sandusky
Buffoons
June 6th, 2012
10:45 pm
Sid. You are one of the ones that scare me most. You watch some TV, read an article & refer to it is evidence. Yikes.
Paul in NH
June 6th, 2012
10:53 pm
I agree that the case should have been moved from Centre County – in a case of this magnitude and with so much emotion and public interest, where, if found guilty, Sandusky is likely to die behind bars, it behoves the State to remove as much local bias (on both sides) as possible.
Personally, I can’t believe that Sandusky’s lawyers aren’t screaming for a change of venue. I lived in PA for 15 years, have friends and former colleagues who went to PSU, have a PSU grad son-in-law and the overwhelming emotions from most of these folks are shame and embarrassment. Joe Paterno isn’t on trial – Jerry Sandusky is and both the PSU haters and the Paterno loyalists, of whom there are many, want to fry him.
Old Dawg
June 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
This reminds of the time Beano Cook had a chart of all the end zone mistakes refs made in Penn State’s favor in Happy Valley (unhappy for visiting teams). The trial should be moved to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh where there’s a larger jury pool.
sports
June 6th, 2012
11:12 pm
This is bad and sad news for the children that were victims.
emmysmom
June 6th, 2012
11:14 pm
After the Casey Anthony verdict, I don’t trust any jury, and I don’t believe any of them had any personal connection to her. This is NOT a good start.
Robert
June 7th, 2012
12:35 am
PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION TO HAVE CASEY ANTHONY TRIED IN FEDERAL COURT. CREATED 4/14/12.
Double jeopardy is subject the dual sovereignty doctrine. It states that a person can be tried for the same crime twice if he or she is being tried by more than one distinct, sovereign government. A person can be tried by the federal government and by a state government for the same crime. Both entities are distinctly sovereign units that have their own sets of laws and their power derived from different sets of people.
The petition addresses the DOJ policy that guides them in deciding whether or not to bring federal charges against someone after a person has already been tried by a state.
http://www.change.org/petitions/lanny-a-breuer-assistant-attorney-general-criminal-division-try-casey-anthony-in-federal-court-for-the-murder-of-her-daughter
or go to change.org and search for BREUER
.
June 7th, 2012
6:20 am
Robert, does there have to be a violation of Federal law for the DOJ to claim jurisdiction in order to proceed with prosecution? I don’t know; I’m asking.
And yes, let’s not forget a presumption of innocence: He has a right to a fair and impartial trial followed by a wonderful action packed honeymoon in prison.
WTF
June 7th, 2012
6:36 am
“Now, I will admit it’s not fair to assume that somebody would look the other way if presented with evidence against Sandusky, just because they’re a Penn State booster.”
Didn’t take long for the BUT to arrive, did it? Next word. Shultz and those of his ilk (remember Bradley’s indictment of Cam Newton?) fill the mid-week AJC with all kinds of theories, hunches and innuendos. Pablum. And dangerous pablum at that. How about waiting to see, Jeff? How about being a freaking journalist. You can certainly report the jury’s antecedents; in fact that’s your job. What is slimy and repugnant is the smarmy ‘Enquirer’-type assumptions. But then you have to fill the paper so it can’t be ALL ads.
Of course there are Penn State ties. Hard to find otherwise. Similar results would be found if this were a UGA situation. You want to make a case for moving the trial out of state? Fine. Just leave the slime behind.
Rbc
June 7th, 2012
7:04 am
Is anyone really surprised considering the extent of the cover-up that went on for so long? This is business as usual in central PA.
Rodster
June 7th, 2012
7:37 am
Yep. Almost guarantee’s a hung jury. There will probably be people in there that are biased on both sides. Like the Penn State professor, he might hate teh football program. Ya never know.
wardenerd
June 7th, 2012
7:42 am
These guys make the OJ jury, the Ray Lewis jury and the Casey Anthony jury look fair and unbiased. I hope if he gets off its one of their children next because a pedophile never gets cured of his urges. I also predict that Coach McCreary will crawfish when he testifies. and Penn State will come out and say it was vindicated in court.
wardenerd
June 7th, 2012
7:48 am
WTF Cam Newton is and was a thug. He got thrown out of Florida for plagiarism and stealing from his fellow students. His father tried to sell him to several Universities and only Auburn would take him and who knows what they paid. No one who turned their head in that case should ever be allowed to make any remarks about the buying and selling of humans, athletes or not. Everyone has tried to rehabilitate Cam Newton’s image cause it is good for the game. I think he may turn out to be Mike Vick light if they can not keep a tight rein on him.
Braves in last palce by the all star brake
June 7th, 2012
7:49 am
What I said
wardenerd
June 7th, 2012
7:52 am
Its like picking a jury from a KKK roster to try the murdered of Medgar Evers. Justice is a joke in Ameriva today. If one of the kids had been black at least Jesse and Al could protest and whine on tv. As it is we hear silence. Deafening silence.
wardenerd
June 7th, 2012
7:57 am
As an Alabame fan I was at Happy Valley for one of the two calls that were wrong and directly affected the final score. In one the Bama receiver is in bounds and in one the Penn State receiver takes several steps out of bounds before he catches the winning score in the back of the end zone. Its like when a team I can not remember played Michigan and at the end of the game Michigan ran 7 plays in 30 seconds with no time outs.
Randall "Pink" Floyd
June 7th, 2012
8:01 am
Pretty sure hanging jurors is a felony. Don’t you mean “jury.”
Jimmy Crack
June 7th, 2012
8:23 am
Jeff, there is nothing to be concerned about. This is one big game, our wonderful court system. Evidence, smevidence, witnesses, smitnesses. The side with the most money (see: the best lawyers), or whomever lucks out and gets a sloppy prosecution, or whose defense team can pick a friendly jury…wins. So what if Sandusky walks. Casey Anthony walked. John Edwards walked. Enron executives walked. O.J. walked (for a while). Donte Stallworth walked. Roger Clements will walk. The list goes on and will go on in this wonderful world of lawyers and their loopholes. If Sandusky walks the world will cry foul and scream all the way until the next big story pops up on their TVs and computer screens, and then it will be filed and forgotten as one of the many travesties of justice. Change the channel. Sad but true. Hopefully this jury will do the right thing…but I doubt it.
heartofdarkness
June 7th, 2012
8:42 am
Most people who opine on sports blogs would not be selected for a jury, yours truly included. Each juror has or will swear that they can evaluate the evidence presented in an impartial fashion without regard to what is said beyond the courtroom. We should take them at their word and expect them to uphold their oath. Perhaps we should question why anyone would base their answer to an important public decision on where they went to school.
Sid
June 7th, 2012
8:56 am
Hopefully Sandusky isn’t on an OJ Simpson pedastal and will be found guilty should the facts of the evidence indicate so.
USMC2841
June 7th, 2012
9:06 am
The worst case scenario for the state is that Sandusky is found guilty and details of how much the school knew come out in the trial. This would open the state to several civil litigation cases. Questions about why Sandusky was demoted from being Paterno’s replacement in the late 90’s and why he was removed from the staff but allowed to stay involved with the program and the charity should be answered. This jury looks to be the states way of avoiding conviction and it’s civil repercussions. Just a theory.
richard whiskey
June 7th, 2012
9:16 am
can’t believe this old fart had’nt done us all a favor and went off somewhere and shot himself
USC TROJANS FAN
June 7th, 2012
9:16 am
WELL IT LOOKS LIKE THE PERV WILL BE GOING HOME….
GT
June 7th, 2012
9:27 am
I agree this is mock justice.
Even in a population of 150,000 there should have been more separation than this. Sandusky is in complete denial, maybe the community is too. Also the decisions of the judge are favoring the defense. The victims having to use their real names is a victory for the defense that hopes to intimidate and influence the testimony. At least in the John Edward’s case every opinion rendered by the judge was favorable for the prosecution.
There should be four or five more blind administrators of Penn State being prosecuted as accessories to this crime. This stuff going on for this long a time on university property in a serial way, he might as well bought a bill board. Even in the football crazy south you would have a lynching over this kind of trash.
Hindu Elvis Pimp
June 7th, 2012
9:36 am
wardenerd
June 7th, 2012
7:42 am
These guys make the OJ jury, the Ray Lewis jury and the Casey Anthony jury look fair and unbiased. I hope if he gets off its one of their children next because a pedophile never gets cured of his urges. I also predict that Coach McCreary will crawfish when he testifies. and Penn State will come out and say it was vindicated in court.
_____________————————–__________________—————————–___________________
Help me out……What the the jury for the Ray Lewis trial do wrong if they never rendered a decision?
Check your facts before you spout off dingus. Lewis agreed to a plea bargain before his trial ended.
This hillbilly factor in this town is sad.
marquis willingham
June 7th, 2012
9:41 am
It would be similar to having a trial in Athens, or any college town for that matter. Its going to be hard to find jurors that have no connection to the college when a trial is in a college town/county
Sharkman
June 7th, 2012
9:54 am
Is this all you got to write about this week? Take a vacation then. This ain’t the John Edwards trial where the prosecution didn’t have a proper case. It would appear this prosecution team has more than enough evidence for hundreds of trials. And let’s not forget, let’s NOT FORGET. NOBODY likes child molesters.
Yurtle_the_Turtle
June 7th, 2012
9:58 am
Juries are always scarry, however it is the best system in the world. Recently saw that some idiot Doctor in Buffalo NY (James Corsanti) was aquitted after last July he ran over an 18 year old girl on the way home from her pizza job. He had been drinking with his golf buddies (had 1 DUI already), got in his car, ran her over. Instead of helping her, he drove off with massive damage to his hood and hid the car. His first call was to his lawyer rather than police. She might have been saved had the doctor actually attended to his victim. What a scumbag. After his trial, he held a pizza party (ironic since she worked at a pizza place) and he served alcohol at his pizza trial. The idiotic jury believed defense lawyers because the young girl wore “dark clothing” and it was getting late when he killed her. SOOOO, Sandusky may get a jury like that one, leaving the true victims still victimized.
Yurtle_the_Turtle
June 7th, 2012
10:03 am
meant to say “he served alcohol with the pizza after his aquittal” . Still a low-life scum sucking bacteria type of doctor. I hope he losses most of his patients
PMC
June 7th, 2012
10:05 am
Im sure both the prosecution and defense did an effective job selecting jurors they believe will give them a fair shake.
It’s not like the Jury won’t have plenty of evidence to make up thier minds anyway.
Delly
June 7th, 2012
10:16 am
My biggest concern is that great big smile on the perp’s face! A sign of evil intentions? The kids ought not be intimidated by these people who have so many reasons to protect their own interests. The Lord is on your side and he is bigger than all. We are watching and praying. You are not alone. Have courage and be brave!
Rbc
June 7th, 2012
10:57 am
For all the people saying it would be difficult to find people in Athens without direct ties to the university, get real. You obviously haven’t spent much time there.
Bill
June 7th, 2012
11:02 am
What about the Judge Jeff.. Where does he fit in the fix?
dcb
June 7th, 2012
11:03 am
No question where you’re coming from with this piece, is there Schultz? Right from the title “9 reasons to be concerned about Jerry Sandusky’s jury” to not-so-hidden suggestions that nine of the jurors have reasons to be bias in favor of the defendant because of ties to Penn State, or special looks given in the courtroom. I don’t know if the guy is guilty or not. I only know what I read in the newspapers. And there lies the rub. When guys like you try and convict folk in your op-ed pieces these days, just “reporting and not making the news” line given by you media types is laughable.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
11:21 am
I am a TECH fan but if I were on trial for DUI i would want a jury full of UGa fans. they seem to think DUI and Drug Possession is no big deal!
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
11:22 am
Maybe all the PENN STATE people will find him GUILTY because they think he hurt the Schools image.
O.J. and Casey Anthony did happen though.
Rich T
June 7th, 2012
11:31 am
Jeff wrote: “It takes only one person to hang a juror.”
Eh. Maybe. It depends on the size and strength of both the juror and the person trying to hang him.