Topic: Penn State Scandal (Read 11472 times)

Shinra · « **Reply #80 on:** June 24, 2012, 04:33:40 AM »

Quote from: TA on June 23, 2012, 07:36:38 PM

Which do you think is more likely to happen to a convicted child rapist in an American jail?

My best friend's dad used to be a prison guard at what was essentially a maximum security convalescense center. Prisoners who were too old or sick to stay at the prison but were serving life sentences and weren't eligible for parole were sent there to either get better, wait out the rest of their sentence, or die.

The few pedophiles who made it that far were so far gone from repeated gang rapes that they had to wear diapers. They don't fuck around with pedophiles in prison. If Jerry Sandusky is smart he's going to beg his lawyer to find a way to segregate him from literally everybody else. He might get by a little easier than the run of the mill pedo by being a football legend, but I'm sure there's going to be some lifer in there with a pair of kids back home who would be happy to trade a couple of months of solitary confinement to rid the world of one more child predator.

I know we've had this debate before, but I still think the most humane thing we can do for people like Sandusky is put them down in the most painless and quick way possible. We're sentencing him to death by putting him in prison anyway.

An alternative would be to create a central prison somewhere in the USA to send all the pedophiles on life sentences, but where the fuck would we build it? I can't think of anywhere in the US that'd allow a pedophile only maximum security prison in their state. Can you imagine the campaign ads? "Governor Shasta Hassenfeffer voted YES on building Disneyland for Pedophiles."

Brentai · « **Reply #81 on:** June 24, 2012, 09:34:38 AM »

If anything his association with football will be a liability, since he'll be held responsible for what happened to JoePa.

And, well, too bad I guess. I have a lot of sympathy for the people who are way, way too disproportionately punished for sex offenses, but not this guy.

Thad · « **Reply #82 on:** June 24, 2012, 07:07:15 PM »

I've no sympathy for him, but the point that our prison system is a mess and allows cruel and inhumane punishments exists independently of whether or not we feel some of the victims deserve it.

Jerry Sandusky makes for a piss-poor rallying cry, but remember that conversation we had the other week about Brian Banks?

Which, similarly, is what makes Shinra's "just kill him" argument a thorny one -- might be the most humane thing for Paterno, but what about the people who are convicted but innocent and hold out hope of being exonerated?

Which brings me back to the issue of assisted suicide. Sandusky says he WANTS to die, I've got absolutely no problem with that. But if we set a precedent for that, then of course we end up with the possibility of people being COERCED into it.

Shinra · « **Reply #83 on:** June 25, 2012, 06:58:49 AM »

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/25/justice/pennsylvania-sandusky/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Have some dignity, Jerry, fuck.

Quote

(CNN) -- Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky will appeal his convictions on numerous counts of child sexual abuse, a member of his defense team says.

After a trial that featured emotional and often graphic testimony from eight of Sandusky's victims, jurors late Friday convicted him of 45 of the 48 sexual abuse counts he faced involving 10 victims.

The eight victims, now young men, testified that they were boys when Sandusky forced them to engage in sexual acts with him. The acts occurred, they said, in showers in Penn State's athletic facilities; hotel rooms; and the basement of Sandusky's home, among other places. The abuse spanned more than 15 years.

After being found guilty, Sandusky, 68, was taken immediately to the jail in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Judge John Cleland said Friday he will be sentenced in about 90 days. He likely will be sentenced to serve the rest of his life behind bars.

Sandusky's defense team plans to file a motion for appeal, claiming he had ineffective counsel, defense attorney Karl Rominger said Sunday. Under Pennsylvania law, that motion cannot be filed until after sentencing.

If Cleland agrees to a hearing on the motion, lead defense attorney Joe Amendola would step aside and appear as a witness, the attorney said. Rominger said either he or another attorney would argue the motion.

Rominger said on Saturday that he and Amendola attempted to withdraw from the case before the trial, telling Cleland the day before jury selection began that they did not feel adequately prepared and that it would be "unethical" for them to move forward. Cleland denied their request, he said. Rominger said he did not mention the issue earlier because a gag order was in place.

If Cleland denies the appeal motion, it would be likely to become part of a broader appeal, Rominger said. Ineffective counsel is a common appeal tactic, but a broader appeal may cite other reasons as well.

"If you win on one of the appeal issues, everything probably falls," Amendola said last week. "All we have to do is convince an appellate court that one of the issues we will raise is worthy of a reversal."

Rominger earlier pointed to "a lot of unique legal issues where (Cleland) made rulings that could be overturned -- not because they were, per se, wrong, but because the law in the area was so unclear."

However, Rominger acknowledged Sunday an appeal may present a tough challenge, as attorneys would have to prove they have significant evidence that could have altered the trial's outcome.

And Cleland could easily rule that evidence presented at trial was so overwhelming -- the victims' testimony, for instance -- that it would not have changed the end result, Rominger said.

Despite widespread speculation, Sandusky did not take the stand in his own defense. Amendola said after the verdict that decision was made because Sandusky's adopted son, Matt, was prepared to testify as a rebuttal witness that he, too, was sexually abused by Sandusky.

As of Saturday, Sandusky was on what is commonly called suicide watch, Rominger said. That was not an indication that Sandusky is suicidal, he added, but Cleland and the jail warden just wanted "to put the precautions in place first and then evaluate later."

The former coach will be classified at Pennsylvania's Camp Hill diagnostic facility before he is likely sent to a sex offender unit in the state prison system, Rominger said. If he is sentenced to more than two years, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections would determine the prison where he would serve his time.

Sex abusers prey on kids' trust,experts say

Beyond the appeals process, Sandusky could face more charges, perhaps tied to claims made by his adopted son or related to alleged sexual abuse that took place outside Centre County -- including in hotel rooms in Texas and Florida where some accuser say they accompanied him to Penn State bowl games.

The university itself also still faces fallout from the case, which shook Penn State and raised questions about its response to the abuse allegations. Two former administrators -- Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley -- are awaiting trial on charges of perjury and failing to report abuse. Prosecutors said the two did not notify police after former graduate student and football assistant Mike McQueary told them he saw Sandusky sodomizing a boy in a Penn State shower in 2001.

Authorities didn't learn about McQueary's account until years later. It led to the ouster of iconic head football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier. Paterno died shortly afterward of lung cancer.

'The Sandusky 8' describe seduction, molestation and betrayal

In addition to the testimony from McQueary and a former janitor at Penn State, several victims said they were repeatedly molested on university property.

How the Sandusky case unfolded

In a statement released Friday night after the verdict, the school signaled it wants to seek resolution -- hinting that might include a financial settlement -- with the victims.

"The university wants to provide a forum where the university can privately, expeditiously and fairly address the victims' concerns and compensate them for claims relating to the university," the statement said.

Thad · « **Reply #84 on:** June 25, 2012, 07:09:26 AM »

Eh, well, what else is he gonna do? People try to appeal; it's what happens. But yeah, when you've got, what, 15 different people each testifying against you there's not a whole hell of a lot you're going to do to wriggle out of that.

Plus, I think if he dies before his appeals are exhausted his conviction gets overturned. I guess that'd be the primary argument in favor of preventing him from committing suicide at this point.

TA · « **Reply #85 on:** June 25, 2012, 07:32:18 AM »

Have you been following that attorney's various nonsense? Ineffective assistance of counsel is a legit complaint, here.

Shinra · « **Reply #86 on:** June 25, 2012, 07:42:09 AM »

Could it have been intentional? A way to stall the trial out until they could appeal when it was out of the media spotlight?

Thad · « **Reply #87 on:** June 25, 2012, 07:50:19 AM »

I haven't paid close attention to the trial (I'll be honest, I usually flip the station once they start going into detail -- it's stomach-churning stuff and I'd just as soon not hear it) but yeah, I remember he and his lawyer have both been behaving pretty bizarrely and ineffectually pretty much from day one.

If he makes a claim of ineffective counsel, that's his right. But I find it hard to believe he'd have gotten off with ANY lawyer.

Brentai · « **Reply #88 on:** June 25, 2012, 09:09:06 AM »

Well, yeah, you have to be out of school to be a lawyer.

Thad · « **Reply #89 on:** June 25, 2012, 09:12:22 AM »

TA · « **Reply #90 on:** July 12, 2012, 06:52:40 AM »

Report finds Penn State President and Joe Paterno actively concealed facts about Sandusky's child rape.

"the most powerful leaders at Penn State University – Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley – repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse from the authorities, the Board of Trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large."

Mongrel · « **Reply #91 on:** July 12, 2012, 06:53:57 AM »

Was just coming here to post the same thing. That report is damning as just about anything. Any residual sympathy anyone might have had for Paterno is gone. Just gone. He might as well have had his pants down around his ankles himself.

Thad · « **Reply #92 on:** July 12, 2012, 07:48:47 AM »

"Concealing sex abuse to protect your reputation" -- they did not think this through.

Mongrel · « **Reply #93 on:** July 12, 2012, 08:05:24 AM »

Quote

"Penn State should keep the Joe Paterno statue. Just move it so he is looking the other way."

Oh wow.

Brentai · « **Reply #94 on:** July 12, 2012, 09:31:18 AM »

No mention of the stories of people wanting to go to the police, getting pulled into Paterno's office, and then suddenly not wanting to go to the police. That's a bit more than turning a blind eye I think.

Unless that gets addressed we're still at the WELL OL' JOE WAS REALLY JUST A FALLIBLE GUY AND IF ANYTHING HE'S ONLY GUILTY OF BEING TOO EASYGOING AND FRIENDLY line of rationalization.

Rico · « **Reply #95 on:** July 12, 2012, 10:05:40 AM »

I've never really thought of myself as an optimist, but I was still holding out hope that Paterno wasn't actively involved in concealing this just to win football, mostly because the alternative was so awful. Nope, turns out he really was a horrible fucking human being. Thanks, world, for reminding me how fucked up things are.

Shinra · « **Reply #96 on:** July 12, 2012, 11:32:24 AM »

I'd love to make a sarcastic joke about how important football is but the humor pretty much evaporates. The child rapist is pretty bad, but the guy who not only is aware of the child rapist but is essentially enabling him to continue being a child rapist for the sake of winning at college football is somehow so much worse.

Joe Paterno should rot in prison for this, forever. He won't, but he fucking should.

Royal☭ · « **Reply #97 on:** July 12, 2012, 11:49:13 AM »

So we can at least rest assured that college football is on the same level as the Catholic church.

Thad · « **Reply #98 on:** July 12, 2012, 11:56:16 AM »

Wonder what Paterno's death means for more potential prosecutions. Obviously he can't be convicted posthumously, but this also means they can't call him to testify against any of the other conspirators.

His death might leave an opening for everyone else involved in the coverup to try and lay it all at his feet, but that's a pretty risky strategy when you're trying to win sympathy from a jury.

At any rate yeah Sandusky is not the only one who should be in prison for this.

We talked earlier in the thread about pre-2002 mandatory reporting laws and various ass-covering actions (like reporting things up the chain and then never following up). But failing to report a crime is not the same thing as actively covering it up. I don't know what the relevant state and federal laws are, but "FBI uncovers evidence of widespread coverup of child molestation" is not the sort of headline that leads to an investigation being dropped with no charges filed.

Shinra · « **Reply #99 on:** July 12, 2012, 12:02:24 PM »

OH, right. Paterno is dead. I forgot!

Well at least that's something.

News:

Author Topic: Penn State Scandal (Read 11472 times)