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
Stiffneck
June 6th, 2012
5:41 pm
This will not end well….
Mike
June 6th, 2012
5:41 pm
I didn’t like ready this. Never thought of it that way Jeff.
Nativebird
June 6th, 2012
5:49 pm
Gee minitley, who the heck is prosecuting this kangaroo trial….Buddy Ebsen? The darn thing should be held in remote Texar-Kansas, where theve never heard of Penn state. Heck never heard of English. Next thing ya know, we’ll find out Penn State is paying his Legal fees. Sham.
SomeGuy
June 6th, 2012
5:56 pm
“It takes only one person to hang a juror.” That is indeed true.
Archie
June 6th, 2012
5:56 pm
Wait, serious question here. You need a unanimous, 12-0 vote to convict the guy? I thought you need a majority.
LDawg
June 6th, 2012
6:08 pm
I thought both sides had to agree on the jury selections. Is the prosecutor a Penn State grad/booster/fan too?
Jean Claude Killy
June 6th, 2012
6:09 pm
Not Good.
Tia
June 6th, 2012
6:10 pm
Do I sense some nepotism here? These jurors seem just a little too close to the subject matter.
MattyB
June 6th, 2012
6:12 pm
Ridiculous. The result will be a hung jury and a second trial will have to be held elsewhere, adding insult to injury for the victims. Stupid!
The Jay
June 6th, 2012
6:16 pm
First, the Patriot News is practically a tabloid; The AJC probably doesn’t realize that and thus using it as a legit news source as reference. 2nd, Centre County is small. Of course everyone there has some sort of tie to Penn State. That’s like being surprised that someone in Athens has a tie to UGA. I laughed at the description of Juror 15, b/c it’s just the tabloidy (<– new word) picture the Patriot news is trying to sell.
zzggyy
June 6th, 2012
6:24 pm
It takes 2 people to hang a juror – one to secure the rope & one to kick the chair out from under him/her.
Ace
June 6th, 2012
6:27 pm
Wouldn’t a PSU loyalist be mad about what Sandusky’s alleged actions did to the school’s reputation and to Paterno’s legacy? How does “going easy” on Sandusky not just make matters worse? Only a juror with personal loyalty to Sandusky is a danger, and hopefully the prosecution struck any of those.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
June 6th, 2012
6:30 pm
they’ll deliberate & deliberate and it will end in a mistrial/hung jury. if state can’t nab him, maybe the feds should have a shot. if that doesn’t work- you can bet penn state will be broke after a massive civil suit will be filed.
Hackjobs
June 6th, 2012
6:30 pm
Archie,
No, in criminal matters, the jury must be unanimous to convict, because the standard of evidence must lead to “beyond a reasonable doubt”.
Dave W.
June 6th, 2012
6:35 pm
What a sham. Is the jury selection a true cross section of the population of the county the trial is being held in? Doesn’t sound like it.
Matt
June 6th, 2012
6:36 pm
Mistrial.
SeATLite
June 6th, 2012
6:36 pm
It takes only one person to hang a jury. Hanging a juror would probably require two or three, depending on the juror’s size. Just sayin’.
AceII
June 6th, 2012
6:43 pm
Wouldn’t a PSU loyalist be mad about what Sandusky’s alleged actions did to the school’s reputation and Paterno’s legacy? How would “going easy” on Sandusky not just make matters worse? And hopefully any Sandusky loyalist was struck from the jury by the prosecution.
Erik
June 6th, 2012
7:00 pm
Holy crap, THOSE are the jurors?!
Wow. Seems like the fix is in. Protect the Penn State brand no matter what.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2012
7:09 pm
Jerry Sandusky is a criminal interest story, not a sports interest story.
Time
June 6th, 2012
7:21 pm
I called a radio show today for the first time in my life. It was a XM rap show of all things. But the guest was a lady talking about how here we are in the supposed land of the free and we have by far the highest percentage of people in jail in the world. Not North Korea, not Iran. The US of A.
My comment was this statistic is just another example of how the whole system is completely broke beyond repair. Sadly, what’s going on with this Sandusky trial is the second glaring example of the complete brokeness of our system I’ve had to listen to today.
Some guy just got life in jail on a 3rd strike for marijuana possession and Sandusky is going to walk. Completely broken beyond repair system.
small town jury?
June 6th, 2012
7:27 pm
true, you can’t trust a small town jury…after all, OJ’s trial was in a small town, right?
AtlJack
June 6th, 2012
7:31 pm
Sandusky will walk 100% because these Penn Staters will give him a free pass.
And then these Penn State pukes will say he was “innocent” all along and poor JoePa
Etc
Sick.
atlmom
June 6th, 2012
7:34 pm
Ace: you are completely correct. Any penn state grads I know (myself included) – are VERY angry about this whole thing, think sandusky is quite guilty and that he has helped to do a lot of damage to the school.
Just sayin – I wouldn’t be worried about him not being convicted…I’d be more in the class of people who think that the jurors think he is guilty before the trial starts…
atlmom
June 6th, 2012
7:37 pm
atljack: you know *nothing* of what you speak. Penn Staters are not happy with this whole episode and are very angry that the administration knew something and that they didn’t do more. if he’s guilty (which seems to be the case) why do you think people wouldn’t do the right thing? what leads you to believe that? wow, is all i can say…
JacketFanMarcus
June 6th, 2012
7:37 pm
@Archie – you must be a UGA fan/grad!
You must have slept through your civics class in school…Lord help us all.
atlmom
June 6th, 2012
7:39 pm
all you people who think that others vote one way just because of their affiliations…look in the mirror. just because *you* might doesn’t mean others don’t have values, class and ethics.
atlmom
June 6th, 2012
7:43 pm
it says more about *your* ethics when you think that just because someone has some affiliation with something, they will vote one way or another. It’s just quite, shall we say, rude to say that when you know nothing of what you speak.
pj
June 6th, 2012
7:44 pm
Jeff – THAT is journalism. And this makes me sick.
yo mama
June 6th, 2012
7:45 pm
Has anybody heard if ESPN will be facing charges that they killed JoePA? the timing of his death, and the unrelenting style in which the network persecuted him was way way out of bounds. heck they even admitted to not airing the tapes they had on bernie fine. talk about the pot calling the kettle black. the fact that the coach did by law what he was supposed to do, is perfect example of how folks make stuff up to get a person fired. espn for some reason felt compelled to air talk shows condeming the coach for his lack of actions, when we all know he was told to stay quiet during the investigation. its time to destroy ESPN.
atlmom
June 6th, 2012
7:49 pm
many alumni disagree with the firing of JoePa, but I thought it was justified by what he did – not wrt the sandusky case, but wrt what he did when all of that was swirling around him. He told *the press* that he was goign to be stepping down at the end of the season, rather than telling his boss (the alumni assoc. board) – that is just not the way things should be done.
I know that those days were quite difficult – so I can’t imagine what it was like in state college, but one should not be using the press in that way.
Eileen
June 6th, 2012
7:49 pm
What a joke. He is going to get away with this. How sad.
rich
June 6th, 2012
7:53 pm
“One person to hang a juror”? or hang a jury
Scott Anderson
June 6th, 2012
7:55 pm
The defense and Prosecutors have equal shots at picking the jury. They had to agree these were ppl that would work out well for both sides. Dont see the point or concerns. This guy should fry for what he did to these kids.
chappy
June 6th, 2012
7:59 pm
@atlmom, which is far liklier to be a paid penn state blogger than an actual *mom* from atlanta,
the university people turned out enmass in support of a child molester. They skipped classes to show their support – *whatever that means*.
Your suggestion to people that they “know not of what they speak” shows you are the one who knows not.
Penn State and its supporters and boosters, and CLEARLY money enough to get their friend off with a slap on the wrist show clearly exactly how they will behave towards these allegations.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2012
8:05 pm
“It takes only one person to hang a juror.”
That goes in my “AJC sports blogs worst posts” collection, and it is the very first contribution from one of the journalists. The statement in and of itself is undeniably true, but the intent is, I have to think, off the mark.
Tom
June 6th, 2012
8:10 pm
And chappy, you could just as likely be a Syracuse or Ohio State blogger. Stupid accusation, huh?
The Jay, and that’s exactly why it should’ve been moved to another part of the state, be it Erie, Wilkes-Barre, or Reading. There’s going to be ties to Penn State no matter where you go in Pennsylvania but at least the number of direct ties to the university or witnesses will be sharply reduced. If Sandusky had worked at UGa, having the trial in Clarke County would have been equally preposterous and I can’t imagine anyone denying the logic of moving it to Valdosta, Columbus, or Warner Robins.
Glen
June 6th, 2012
8:10 pm
Maybe they can Sandusky’s wife to serve as judge….just to complete the puzzle.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2012
8:10 pm
Some of my favorites from the past couple of years.
“While we did lose to 3 rank opponents I am proud of the the dawns this year.”
“Epic. Like the Kubla Khan and the Mongrol hoard invasions”
“Georgia Tech is a school seeping in football tradition!”
Logic
June 6th, 2012
8:28 pm
Don’t you people know that this is not about the kids…it is about winning. Their god and hero Joe looked the other way and I’m sure this jury will also. Remember, the most important thing is winning no matter the cost.
By the way the same is true of UGA. Not so with GT…because they are not real serious about any sports otherwise they would not be in the ACC.
Jo Bling
June 6th, 2012
8:28 pm
Indeed, it takes only one person to hang a juror, but a lynch mob is much more efficient.
Football Rules
June 6th, 2012
8:34 pm
I see there are already people on here trying to defend Joe half hearted attempt to stop this behavior. Joe should have asked more questions and investigated his coaching staff. Joe should have been indicted also. But the “football is all of my life crowd” here will try to defend ole Joe and say he was innocent. What a complete joke.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2012
8:35 pm
Hang down your head Tom Dooley.
Fix is in...
June 6th, 2012
8:36 pm
The Penn State fan club only cares about Penn State.
So a few kids get molested; who cares, as long as Penn State keeps winning!
doggoneit
June 6th, 2012
8:39 pm
This a bold, in your face, attempt to exonerate JOE PA. AND ITS GOING TO WORK
out for blood
June 6th, 2012
8:41 pm
As a PSUer, I think you have it exactly the wrong way around– the PSUers are going to out for Jerry’s blood.
RGB
June 6th, 2012
8:43 pm
This story also proves that nearly everybody works for the government these days.
Private enterprise = endangered species.
Warhorse
June 6th, 2012
8:46 pm
Sports writers should stick with subjects they have the knowledge to understand. You are great in the locker room but a novice at best in understanding a court room.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2012
8:47 pm
“The trial begins Monday the judge”
Strange final sentence. The editors must have D-Day off.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2012
8:50 pm
Centre county, PA is one and a half times as populous as Clarke County Georgia.
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.
Anthony S.
June 7th, 2012
11:32 am
The jurors ties to PSU should not be an issue if they have any morals at all. There is way too much evidence against this creep. He just looks like a pure bred pedophile. I can picture in my mind what McQueary saw when he walked in that locker room, probably would have made me sick. When I read the charges against him I envisioned the situations he had those boys in and it’s really hard to phathom how he got away with it for all these years. I hope these jurors have the same visions I do and not think about him as a PSU man or a football coach, I hope they do their job, see him for what he really is and get some justice for all those boys that suffered through this ordeal. As much as I love the sport of football, there is no way I could look past all of this evidence and give this guy a pass just because he was a football player and coach.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
11:35 am
Anthony S. you having VISIONS of what was happening is REAL SCARY to me. My Mind will not allow me to SEE such sick things.
RxDawg
June 7th, 2012
11:53 am
“Some guy just got life in jail on a 3rd strike for marijuana possession ”
Umm… sorry Time. I agree that the judicial system is kinda messed up. But there has GOT to be more to that statement. I flat out don’t believe that.
Falkor
June 7th, 2012
12:00 pm
So much for a Fair Trial. That term is supposed to apply to both the prosecution and defense.
What’s more likely: 12 people have come forward with blatant lies about what Sandusky did to them. Or Sandusky is a sick man who did sick things to young boys for many years?
hmmm
81Dog
June 7th, 2012
12:00 pm
Here’s a revolutionary idea: let the trial play out, see what the evidence is, then see what the jury actually does BEFORE the end of civilizaton is proclaimed.
This concept is probably alien to big city folks, but there are lots of counties in America where the population is small enough that most everyone knows everyone else, and knows something about everyone else. Just because you know someone doesnt necessarily mean you’re going to ignore your oath as a juror to be fair and impartial, and most people actually strive to do what is right.
You couldnt try that case anywhere in Pennsylvania without having people in the jury pool who are Penn State fans and/or alums. I would imagine most of them are not in favor of serial child molestation, in or outside of Centre County. If the evidence is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, they’ll most likely vote to convict. Give them a chance to hear the evidence and the instructions by the court. Unless the prosecutors blow the case, or the evidence isnt what it has been advertised to be, nobody is going to let a child molestor walk. I suppose it’s a lot more exciting to babble about scenarios that no one actually has any factual basis for proposing, but I guess the AJC needs internet hits, too.
Nick
June 7th, 2012
12:03 pm
Wow! Maybe common sense will prevail.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
12:07 pm
NICK…………..O.J. nuff said.
john
June 7th, 2012
12:12 pm
Archie, in answer to your serious question, You need a unanimous, 12-0 vote to convict the guy? Yes. You either needed to pay more attention in school or watch more Law and Order. You need a unanimous verdict to convict and also to find not guilty. Anything less is a hung jury.
John Holmes
June 7th, 2012
12:14 pm
If I am on a Jury it is always HUNG.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
12:16 pm
LOL
PSUChuck
June 7th, 2012
12:19 pm
Living here in Centre County nobody is going to give JS a free pass. No way. If the case cleary points that he did what he is accused of he is going to prison. This is an educated jury who will listen to the FACTS and decide.
Relax everyone and let’s see how it plays out.
bubba4dawgs
June 7th, 2012
12:33 pm
almost reminiscent of the O. J. trial! Talk about a “stacked” jury….this is a defense lawyer’s dream!! He best watch out for the plaintiffs when he goes free (and it appears that he will)!
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
12:41 pm
bubba4dawgs are you saying “If the P..is doesn’t Fit you must acquit”?
Hillbilly D
June 7th, 2012
1:32 pm
It takes only one person to hang a juror.
Shouldn’t that say jury? I think hanging a juror would be frowned upon, no matter how many were involved.
Fuzzy Zoeller
June 7th, 2012
1:36 pm
Fried chicken and collard greens!
catlady
June 7th, 2012
2:50 pm
I find this pretty hard to believe! Why wasn’t the venue changed?
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
2:53 pm
PBR and hotdogs!
Ella
June 7th, 2012
2:58 pm
I wonder how many of them are connected to his Masonic lodge, or Eastern Star. The judge is Eastern Star (the one that let him go back home the first time). The book “Second Mile” is about Eastern Star, I thought that was interesting. These people do protect each other, and they will gangstalk those victims forever, I’d say, and this man will never be convicted of a crime. It’s going to be like the Franklin Cover-up. It’s a huge pedophile ring, so it’s too big for anyone to deal with. What they do, in cases like this, is they gangstalk the victims, to shut them up, and then if they get caught, they will have a kangaroo court, and then gangstalk the reporter who brought it out.
Analyst + Therapist
June 7th, 2012
2:58 pm
Sales in underoos are sure to increase after this with parents double and tripling up in the hopes that Jerry won’t “fall in love” with their boy.
catlady
June 7th, 2012
3:01 pm
Having sat on 2 juries in Clarke County GA–OMG! You don’t ever want to get in trouble there!
The judge kept falling asleep.
One juror was a crack head and went crazy when she could not get to her “stuff” at the right time. I mean, ***thouse crazy.
One juror could not tell if the young man intended to rob folks EVEN THOUGH HE WAS CAUGHT IN SOMEONE’S CAR AT 2 AM with their possessions in his pockets and had been seen trying other car doors before the police arrived!
The provost was called for jury duty but was dismissed with a wave of the hand. No such luck for the rest of us–I had to serve on two separate juries in a week!!
BTW, I think the prosecution gets significantly less strikes than the defense.
LawDawg
June 7th, 2012
5:29 pm
As a former prosecutor, I would be horrified if that was the jury I ended up with in this type of case. Getting convictions fro child molestation is difficult enough as it is.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
5:40 pm
LAWDAWG……….Don’t you think the Penn St people want to distance themselves from him?
I am not sure the jury is a benefit for the Defense. I have a feeling that since they all seem to be very educated they will listen to the CASE and maybe not chose to make PENN STATE look worse by letting him off. If the Prosecution does it’s job and the jury finds him NOT GUILTY it will just HEAP more crap on PSU.
tree rollins
June 7th, 2012
5:50 pm
I just got out of the shower and read this – why is my butt feeling so sore??
phil
June 7th, 2012
7:04 pm
AtlJack
June 6th, 2012
7:31 pm
Sandusky will walk 100% because these Penn Staters will give him a free pass.
And then these Penn State pukes will say he was “innocent” all along and poor JoePa
Etc
Sick.
************
What is sick are your pathetic ramblings….clueless, brainless, senseless babble.
phil
June 7th, 2012
7:09 pm
81Dog
June 7th, 2012
12:00 pm
Here’s a revolutionary idea: let the trial play out, see what the evidence is, then see what the jury actually does BEFORE the end of civilizaton is proclaimed.
This concept is probably alien to big city folks, but there are lots of counties in America where the population is small enough that most everyone knows everyone else, and knows something about everyone else. Just because you know someone doesnt necessarily mean you’re going to ignore your oath as a juror to be fair and impartial, and most people actually strive to do what is right.
You couldnt try that case anywhere in Pennsylvania without having people in the jury pool who are Penn State fans and/or alums. I would imagine most of them are not in favor of serial child molestation, in or outside of Centre County. If the evidence is sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, they’ll most likely vote to convict. Give them a chance to hear the evidence and the instructions by the court. Unless the prosecutors blow the case, or the evidence isnt what it has been advertised to be, nobody is going to let a child molestor walk. I suppose it’s a lot more exciting to babble about scenarios that no one actually has any factual basis for proposing, but I guess the AJC needs internet hits, too.
*********
a voice of reason among a sea of clueless loons!
Stumpknocker
June 7th, 2012
9:31 pm
Whether Sandusky is convicted or not, the Powers that Be should sweep PSU clean and start over again. If he is acquitted (Sandusky) , the University should get ready to bite the bullet and settle some big time lawsuits.
Chris
June 8th, 2012
9:57 am
It sounds like you’ve already convicted the guy and are just worried about a jury that won’t. I wonder if you would be equally worried about a jury that might convict out of ignorance–which, statistically speaking, happens more often: convictions occur 4% more often in jury trials than in bench trials.
Dawg Tired
June 8th, 2012
10:26 am
As a lawyer, I tend to agreed with AceII’s comment at 6:43 PM on June 6. These PSU folks may be harder on Sandusky than neutral folks because of their desire to show the world that he is not representative of the values held by PSU or its supporters. Of course, that is still problematic in that Sandusky may not be able to get a fair trial. The whole thing seems problematic. Case should not be tried locally.
Dawg Tired
June 8th, 2012
10:28 am
Phil at 7:09 on June 7th – Good points.
Dawg Tired
June 8th, 2012
10:30 am
Sorry – Should have been complimenting 81Dog and Phil.
DawgNole
June 8th, 2012
1:36 pm
Last sentence in Jeff’s column: “The trial begins Monday the judge”
Wonder what the rest of the column is about?
Really?
June 8th, 2012
1:40 pm
The northeast is the child molesting capital of the world. They actually don’t see the problem with rapeing kids especially little boys. What the heck is wrong with everyone in the northeast?
Flo-Ri-Duh
June 9th, 2012
5:06 pm
Hopefully this trial won’t be on national T.V. like O.J. Simpson. There will be a mistrial at some point much like the John Edwards fiasco.
C. Darrow
June 10th, 2012
8:36 am
Jeez!….One would think lawyers would be more ethical.
chipper
June 10th, 2012
4:03 pm
Many of these comments seem to be from people who don’t make any distinction between Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky. Joe isn’t on trial.
Dawg Whisperer
June 12th, 2012
9:37 am
Everyone knows it takes a jury to hang one person.
jeff
June 12th, 2012
4:12 pm
Moving the trial to Arkansas would’ve been a better solution than to think anyone in the State would not have any Ties to the most popular University in the State. These facts are Not surprising given the Location of the Trial.
jeff
June 12th, 2012
4:14 pm
Jeff graduatd from UGA.. They don’t teach proper punctuation in that area of the State, The Judge-
mehlman rings twice
June 13th, 2012
2:33 pm
I don’t see what all the fuss is about. So what if he molested those boys; no dogs made to fight were they?
old dog
June 14th, 2012
4:05 pm
The guy is guilty…period. See the trial, testimony, etc. He is fixin’ to meet “Bruno” in the cell, and there are scores of prisoners who would consider it a badge of honor to kill this scum. He better be thinkin’…..the clock on his time is ticking double-quick!
BLT
June 16th, 2012
6:40 pm
“The northeast is the child molesting capital of the world. They actually don’t see the problem with rapeing kids especially little boys. What the heck is wrong with everyone in the northeast?”
Hmmm…
This might be the most ignorant post I’ve ever read. Sweeping generalization and indictment on a whole portion of the USA.
Hopefully you NEVER have jury duty. My guess is you won’t. Which is a damn GOOD thing.
With that said, is every single person in that town/municipality associated with Penn State? If so then it should be located in a different area. Justice will prevail…
gt4ever
June 18th, 2012
10:26 am
I have confidence that the people(Jurors) of Penn. will do the right thing….
JASon
June 18th, 2012
6:31 pm
“It takes only one person to hang a juror.”
Thanks for this gem.