Judge throws out 3 of 51 counts against Sandusky

[Lacey]

I read either Friday or Saturday night that both of his lawyers tried to quit at the last moment before the start of the trial, but the judge knew about it and said no no no.

[Twizzler]

Did anyone see the Anderson Cooper interview with Joe Amendola (Sandusky's lawyer) the night of the verdict? More specifically his comments while he was being miked and readying himself to be on air. Completely inappropriate, IMO. When Jason Carroll, the CNN reporter on the scene, told him they were going to hook him up (fit his microphone) he responded "With who? Is she cute?" (that may not be a direct quote but it's close.) He sounded punch drunk.

I did see that and couldn't believe the unprofessionalism. The word "smarmy" comes to mind, but what do I know. I have heard in several reports that he is THE man to go to if you need to get things done in Central PA. (Although that didn't ring true in this case, thankfully!)

Most of the experts that were interviewed on CNN that night were practically hysterical with laughter that Amendola thinks he can be granted an appeal.

[agalisgv]

An inmate who identified himself only as "Josh" told The Daily that the last time Sandusky was in jail, he and other prisoners serenaded the former assistant coach with a famous like from Pink Floyd's "The Wall."

"At night, we were singing 'Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone,' " Josh said.

Josh added that Sandusky was held alone in a special unit reserved for sexual offenders or people with mental illnesses. The jail can hold 349 inmates and those who had access to television and newspapers knew about Sandusky.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_1...s-report-says/

And apparently Sandusky's lawyer is still talking:

[Sandusky's] own attorneys say he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

With an advocate like that, who needs a prosecutor?

[Polymer Bob]

I guess he will be very popular in prison.

[barbk]

I guess he will be very popular in prison.

I'd be surprised if he was left in the general population given his notoriety.

Does Pennsylvania have special units to jail the elderly?

[Sparks]

Yes they do.

[taf2002]

I'd be surprised if he was left in the general population given his notoriety.

They don't segregate young men from hardened criminals who rape them or prey on them in other ways. Why should a child rapist be given special privileges? Let him sink or swim just like everyone else in prison.

[jeffisjeff]

http://news.yahoo.com/joe-paterno-ps...opstories.html

Former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno and other top university officials acted with "total disregard" for the children sexually abused by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky because of their fear of "bad publicity," a report by the university's internal investigation said today.

The report was released at the conclusion of the investigation led by former FBI director Louis Freeh, who was hired to find out why officials who knew of child molestation accusations failed to stop Sandusky or report him to police.

The report said that Paterno, along with officials Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and former president Graham Spanier, "repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse from the authorities," and it blamed those four men for failing to stop Sandusky and protect other chidlren from his harm. Read the full report.

The four officials showed a "striking lack of empathy" for the victims of Sandusky's abuse and empowered the former assitant coach to continue abusing, the report said.

[milanessa]

Yes.

[manleywoman]

I wish JoePa had lived to see his legacy ruined. He deserved to be publicly disgraced.

[sk8er1964]

I wish JoePa had lived to see his legacy ruined. He deserved to be publicly disgraced.

I was feeling a small bit sorry for him and his legacy when the whole thing broke and he was still alive, but definitely not now.

[Sparks]

IMO, anyone who is complicit in the cover-up is just as guilty as the child-rapist.

[KHenry14]

This is a prime example of how covering up makes EVERYTHING worse. Sure, had they dropped the hammer on Sandusky in 1998 there would have been some bad press for PSU and Paterno. But in the long run, they would have been seen as doing the right thing.

Now they look like criminals (as they are) and they have caused innocent children incredible harm. And the bad press they are getting now, plus the likely 100million lawsuit(s) that they will have to pay out have cause far more damage than had they merely done the right thing.

PSU is going to deserve every penalty that is going to come there way.

[Lacey]

So are some others besides Sanduskey going to fry in court?

And are any of these Penn State people still employed by the university? I think they fired the President, but what about the Athletic Director, others?

I hope no one settles easily, the victims deserve big bucks and to see them all fired.

[Theatregirl1122]

This is absolutely damning. I hope all those PSU fans who were dumb enough to riot when JoPa was fired and who acted like his legacy being tarnished made him a victim, recognize how stupid they were. But I'v already seen comments that make it clearl that they do not.

I've seen a lot of people comment that the NCAA should seriously be considering giving PSU the death penalty. I would bet money that they don't. Penn State makes the NCAA a boatload of money. The NCAA isn't really about costing themselves money when they dole out penalties.

[oleada]

What this men did is absolutely vile. Are any of them facing prison time?

Those poor boys

[KHenry14]

BTW, Paterno's son Jay was just on ESPN defending his Dad. Except, he didn't call him Dad, or Pop, or Father, he called him Joe. Very strange IMO. He also went on and on about the report being "not sworn testimony", and alluding to details that have yet to come out or things that wont be confirmed in a trial.

It's just sad that the Paterno family is so strident in their defense of Joe. I think they should just say that they are sorry this all happened and that they hoped that the public would remember the man that was beloved for over 60 years.

[Twizzler]

This is a prime example of how covering up makes EVERYTHING worse. Sure, had they dropped the hammer on Sandusky in 1998 there would have been some bad press for PSU and Paterno. But in the long run, they would have been seen as doing the right thing.

Now they look like criminals (as they are) and they have caused innocent children incredible harm. And the bad press they are getting now, plus the likely 100million lawsuit(s) that they will have to pay out have cause far more damage than had they merely done the right thing.

PSU is going to deserve every penalty that is going to come there way.

This is what I don't get. People (JoPa and accomplices) say they were trying to avoid bad press. If you know someone on your staff is continuously doing things this vile, how can it be anything but good press to alert authorities and do whatever it takes to bring down the perpetrator? I would think way more highly of an institution that did that instead of the way PSU handled it.

[attyfan]

What this men did is absolutely vile. Are any of them facing prison time?

Those poor boys

IIRC, two or three are facing perjury charges for "covering up" under oath. It seems that there was no legal requirement to report the abuse, so they can't get nailed for failing to do so. Hope that the victims are able to hold their feet to the fire in a civil suit, since I don't think the criminal law system will be able to do much more. Paterno is the only one I'm not worried about ... he's facing justice (IMO).

[Theatregirl1122]

IIRC, two or three are facing perjury charges for "covering up" under oath. It seems that there was no legal requirement to report the abuse, so they can't get nailed for failing to do so. Hope that the victims are able to hold their feet to the fire in a civil suit, since I don't think the criminal law system will be able to do much more. Paterno is the only one I'm not worried about ... he's facing justice (IMO).

I don't believe that is true. As a University, shouldn't both the institution and the individuals be able to be prosecuted under the Clery Act?