STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — As Jerry Sandusky insisted through a lawyer Monday that he is not guilty of sexually abusing children, a juror who voted to convict the retired Penn State assistant coach said she hoped the verdict would help his accusers heal.No, the verdict will not help the accusers heal. They are all suing Penn State for millions of dollars.
The jury found the testimony of the eight victims who took the witness stand compelling, Ann Van Kuren said Monday. Jurors weighed the accounts and evidence diligently before finding Sandusky guilty last week of 45 counts for sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years, she said.
There was no physical evidence or timely complaints. The alleged victims told stories based on recovered memory, a dubious process with no scientific validity. The only accuser who is not suing was McQueary, and he testified in exchange for immunity for himself. So every witness against Sandusky had a very big motive to lie. None of them told a story that could be independently corroborated.
With all the accusations, there is still no proof of Penn State culpability. There is no explanation about how Sandusky could have been so openly molesting so many kids, without anyone saying anything. I think that it is a big witchhunt.
I conclude that there are certain things about human nature that most people do not understand. That people will lie when they have a motive to lie. That it is very difficult to detect a determined liar. That almost no one tolerates child molesters. That some men like kids and behave inappropriately, but not criminally. That prosecutors can manipulate witnesses by asking them to support the testimony of each other. That once a media witchhunt gets enough momentum, there is no stopping it. That personal knowledge of abuse does not imply that someone else is an abuser.
The press just celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Watergate scandal. From that I learned that there could be a media witchhunt without most people even knowing what the crime was. That the Wash. Post publishes silly rumors if it finds two anonymous sources. That Nixon was betrayed by the real criminals, such as John Dean, Mark Felt, and Al Haig. That the public could somehow be convinced that the coverup is worse than the crime.
If the Watergate coverup was a great ctime, then so is Operation Fast and Furious. Nobody died in Watergate. The Obama administration has repeatedly lied to Congress and to the public to conceal its role in this matter.
Update: McQueary is now also suing Penn State for millions of dollars. There is no objective witness against Sandusky.
2 comments:
I was stunned when I read the details of Matt Sandusky's testimony (that wasn't presented to the Jury) and found it was based on "recovered memory!"
NBC’s Iskioff also reports that Sandusky, who was adopted by Jerry Sandusky and his wife, Dottie, at age 18, continues to undergo therapy and is only now recalling more details about his encounters with Sandusky.”
So we have the one witness, McQueary, who went from saying he saw a rape to saying he "heard" one, the improbably story of a 50 year-old raping an 11-year old standing in a shower (just how do things line up?), and "disadvantaged kids" coming forward to testify, years after, who get to remain anonymous and collect, probably, $1MM tax-free apiece.
It is certainly possible Sandusky isn't guilty of anything! The fact is, once you're accused of a horrible crime like this, it's impossible to get a fair trail.
I agree. Some of the trial witnesses also used recovered memories. Sandusky did not get a fair trial.
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