For those who take the time to study the grave American miscarriage of justice, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s prosecution of Jerry Sandusky, it soon becomes apparent that he is innocent. But who will take the time?
It is not just that an innocent man has spent 12 years in prison. There are many innocent Americans in prison. It’s a national pastime. But the Sandusky case is historic. It is worth the time to study because I believe it will be remembered as one of history’s most notorious examples of mass hysteria leading to a wrongful conviction. For that, we can thank the media.
When lies are spoken as truth, the media of America shines.
A Passel of Liars
But nothing could have been done without a cluster of unrelated individuals, motivated by greed, ambition, and thirst of power, all acting as sanctimonious as thieves at a charity auction. They worked with a common purpose, but to satiate their own individual interests, to ensure the conviction of an innocent man.
Among the oddities of the case is that many of these dishonest actors likely thought Sandusky was guilty and justified their lying, cheating or recklessness on the belief that he must be guilty because everyone believes it and that the ends justified the means. Thus, we find liars justifying their lying about another human being because they believed the others were telling the truth.
I think the definition of due process might be that the means must justify the ends, not vice versa.
I suspect that among the actors in the prosecution of Jerry Sandusky, no one told the truth except Jerry Sandusky.
Jerry Sandusky
Avarice
The shady syndicate who put the innocent Sandusky in prison included, in addition to reckless media, dishonest prosecutors, bad faith police investigators, a corrupt judge, a wicked governor, shyster lawyers, quack therapists, a greedy former FBI director, imbecile and cowardly Penn State trustees, and a motley assortment of liars and fools, including relatives of the accusers who safeguarded perjury by pushing weasels into falsely testifying in the name of transforming a life of poverty to one of unearned wealth.
This crooked consortium of self interest opened the door for the eight villains, men whose names will live in infamy, the epitome of ignorance, and ingratitude, men whose moral compass was utterly devoid of that thing called integrity. Without these eight men, this injustice could not be done.
Eight craven men, acting as if they were still little boys, lying to make millions. By claiming Sandusky abused them when they were teens or preteens, these eight collected more money than they had earned before or after in their lives: for about an hour’s worth of perjury.
The Swindle Eight
The Face of Greed
If you want to understand what the human archetypal face of greed and dishonesty is, look at the faces of these eight men above.
Even the devil, if there were one, would shun these villains, not for their evil, but for the low price they received, and in the ignominious way they bargained for the sale of their souls.
Convicted Witches and a Convicted Pedophile
When I think of the Jerry Sandusky case, I think of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
During the witch trials, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, a crime punishable by death. Nineteen died by hanging, and one was pressed to death. Several died in jail, awaiting trial or execution.
Sandusky sits in jail, now 80, awaiting a new trial.
The accusations against the witches were based on the most dubious evidence, such as testimony that the spirit of the accused had appeared to the witness in a dream or vision.
The accusations against Sandusky were based on equally dubious evidence such as repressed recovered memory – of men who initially said Sandusky had not abused them, who, with their attorneys’ guidance, went to memory therapists who helped cover up their perjury.
Judge John Cleland had no interest in justice. He needed Sandusky convicted quickly.
The atmosphere of fear, superstition, and tension within the Salem community led to a series of trials driven by hysteria and fear, and no factual evidence or fair judicial processes. The same can be said of Sandusky plus the motive to make money. The media drove the fear, and Penn State told the world they would pay millions to accusers even before the show trial.
Penn State Has a Responsibility to the Truth
Penn State, an institute of lower learning.
Neeli Bendapudi is the current president of Penn State. She has shown no interest in the possibility that Jerry Sandusky and her brilliant predecessor, Dr. Graham Spanier, are innocent. She has not acknowledged that Penn State played a major role in their unjust convictions.
As the head of a supposed institute of higher learning, one would think she might consider looking into the case.
Penn State has a law school. Bendaputi could possibly encourage the school to get the law students to review the incredible lack of due process in a case rushed from indictment to trial in seven months, so that a football season was not canceled at the cost of the life of a man.
And this might be an obligation for the dean and other leaders of the law school to not let this terrible injustice that involved Penn State remain ignored.
Victor Romero
Interim Dean, Maureen B. Cavanaugh Distinguished Faculty Scholar, and Professor of Law
Jud Mathews
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
Nicole Chong
Associate Dean and Professor of Legal Writing
Keith Elkin
Associate Dean for Academic Success and Professor of Legal Skills
Steven Hinckley
Associate Dean for Library and Information Services and Professor of Law
Andrea M. Matwyshyn
Associate Dean for Innovation and Technology and Professor of Law
Michele Vollmer
Associate Dean for Clinics and Experiential Learning and Professor of Clinical Law
Dara E. Purvis
Associate Dean for Research and Partnerships and Professor of Law
Dr. Wende’ Ferguson
Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Assistant Dean for Student Services
Stephen G. Barnes
Assistant Dean of Graduate and International Programs
Amanda DiPolvere
Associate Dean for Enrollment, Career Development, Planning & Transition
Wende’ Ferguson
Assistant Dean of Student Services
Matt Gardner
Assistant Dean for Digital Learning and Information Technology
Too Much Time Does Not Heal
Salem produced a lot of convicted witches.
In the years following the Salem witch trials, there was growing recognition of the injustices that had occurred. By 1702, the trials were declared unlawful. In 1711, the Colony of Massachusetts passed a bill restoring the rights and good names of those accused, which did not mean a whole hell of a lot to the dead convicted witches.
Perhaps we can do better this time and restore the rights and good name of Jerry Sandusky before he dies in prison.
It took almost three hundred years – until 1957 – for the State of Massachusetts to formally apologize for the events of 1692. The problem was there was not a single convicted witch or anyone who knew them to accept the apology.
Jerry Sandusky
I hope it will not take as long to admit the mistake and learn the lesson that media-driven hysteria, false accusations, and lapses in due process caused the wrongful conviction of Jerry Sandusky while a whole nation watched.
