Article on repressed memory therapy

[francofan]

Thought provoking article by Mark Pendergrast about the use of repressed memory therapy to convict Sandusky and why it is not reliable. Pendergrast ends the article with a plea to the Pennsylvania judiciary system - "Let’s hope that the justices will allow testimony about repressed memories in the Sandusky case."

The original title of the thread was the title of the article "Why Jerry Sandusky May Be Innocent." I am assuming that the forum moderator may have thought that "article on repressed memory therapy" may have been more acceptable and less toxic.

http://thecrimereport.org/2016/09/07/why-jerry-sandusky-may-be-innocent/

 

[elvis63]

Spoiler alert , he's as guilty as sin. This line has not been proven yet and is pure speculation . The OAG had twenty others victims ready to go .

He's where he belongs , and he's staying there.

 

[biacto]

Spoiler alert , he's as guilty as sin. This line has not been proven yet and is pure speculation . The OAG had twenty others victims ready to go .

He's where he belongs , and he's staying there.

Why aren't the 20 others present?

Because they're as full of shit as the others before them.

 

[LaJolla Lion]

Why aren't the 20 others present?

Because they're as full of shit as the others before them.

Everyone is a liar but Jerry. Sure.

 

[francofan]

Spoiler alert , he's as guilty as sin. This line has not been proven yet and is pure speculation . The OAG had twenty others victims ready to go .

He's where he belongs , and he's staying there.

You are welcome to your own opinions. I just don't happen to subscribe to them.

Let the OAG put any and all who claims to be a victim of JS on the stand. Maybe we will get a chance to vet some of this ridiculous claims that Penn State has absurdly paid to accusers. Jerry Sandusky's trial was patently unfair and he deserves a new trial. The use of repressed memory therapy is a totally unreliable way of getting an accuser to make a factual report of CSA.

 

[Obliviax]

Everyone is a liar but Jerry. Sure.

well...they had ample financial incentive...especially when they learned that there would be no real investigation into their allegations. I can appreciate that the mountain of evidence is overwhelming. But it you take away MM and the financial incentive, I can appreciate the 5% doubt.

 

[LaJolla Lion]

well...they had ample financial incentive...especially when they learned that there would be no real investigation into their allegations. I can appreciate that the mountain of evidence is overwhelming. But it you take away MM and the financial incentive, I can appreciate the 5% doubt.

Like I said...they all were liars and it was just the money. They all got together and made the whole thing up. It's all just a bad dream guys...it didn't happen. Jerry had no access to these victims when they were children. He wasn't really told to stay away from kids in the shower but kept doing it. It was just a money thing. Got it.

When actual hard evidence comes out showing multiple victims made this up, I'm raise my eyebrows. That has not occurred. I get a few people wishing this wasn't true, but it's borderline fantasy at this point in time. I'm not saying every victim that got paid was a boy scout and honest, but I think a few little kids were touched by the tickle monster. If you want to hold out hope it was all a bad dream, but all means...go ahead.

 

[JoeBatters1]

It mentions at the bottom of the article that Pendergrast is writing a book about Sandusky. I believe Ziegler mentioned Pendergrast in one of his radio appearances and I thought he indicated Pendergrast was not going to publish the book, but I am not certain.

 

[Obliviax]

Like I said...they all were liars and it was just the money. They all got together and made the whole thing up. It's all just a bad dream guys...it didn't happen. Jerry had no access to these victims when they were children. He wasn't really told to stay away from kids in the shower but kept doing it. It was just a money thing. Got it.

Again, you've got to follow the timeline.

• Prosecution had a couple of kids (White Mountain and 1998, of which no charges were brought)
• They found MM *but no victim
• The case then blew up when the indictments came down
• Lawyers pounced in
  • Criminal Prosecution
  • Civil Litigation
• Tons of kids came forward (we can only speculate why they waited and why they are now coming forward...some appear to be legit, some have been proven to not be legit).
• PSU didn't fight so gave money up willy nilly, to the point were PSU outspent the worldwide Catholic Church with no defense of Joe, the administration or the university

Yeah, I am 100% confident that there are several claims that are total BS. Happens in every one of these cases. Are they all? 95% sure that is not the case but wouldn't be shocked. Not to attack the victims, but being second mile kids, they would seem to all be 'at risk' in some fashion.

 

[WiiRpos]

Thought provoking article by Mark Pendergrast about the use of repressed memory therapy to convict Sandusky and why it is not reliable. Pendergrast ends the article with a plea to the Pennsylvania judiciary system - "Let’s hope that the justices will allow testimony about repressed memories in the Sandusky case."

http://thecrimereport.org/2016/09/07/why-jerry-sandusky-may-be-innocent/

Would be epic if old Jer found innocent a late day. Does PSU get all refund?

 

[MoonOverMyHammy]

Has anyone read Pendergrast's books? Is he a kook, or does he have actual credibility?

 

[LaJolla Lion]

Again, you've got to follow the timeline.

• Prosecution had a couple of kids (White Mountain and 1998, of which no charges were brought)
• They found MM *but no victim
• The case then blew up when the indictments came down
• Lawyers pounced in
  • Criminal Prosecution
  • Civil Litigation
• Tons of kids came forward (we can only speculate why they waited and why they are now coming forward...some appear to be legit, some have been proven to not be legit).
• PSU didn't fight so gave money up willy nilly, to the point were PSU outspent the worldwide Catholic Church with no defense of Joe, the administration or the university

Yeah, I am 100% confident that there are several claims that are total BS. Happens in every one of these cases. Are they all? 95% sure that is not the case but wouldn't be shocked. Not to attack the victims, but being second mile kids, they would seem to all be 'at risk' in some fashion.

I'm not surprised that a few people are holding out hope still here, but it's borderline delusional at this point. What PSU did was idiotic, but it has nothing to do with the victims at the trial who testified that they spent time ALONE with Jerry and he molested them. Jerry still has no defense for that. I love a good conspiracy theory every now and then, but for Jerry to be "INNOCENT"....a SHIT TON of people had to lie. Saying a victim is a bad egg doesn't mean he lied about what Jerry did. It's a good common defense tactic, but like the hooker who asked to be raped....but it doesn't mean a crime didn't occur.

I'm looking forward to the Pitt game. This crap has really run it's course when it comes to Jerry is innocent IMO. I'm all for finding out why and how the school decided to blame a HC and a sport for all of this in order to shell out millions, but I don't think Jerry Sandusky is some sad mistaken victim. He's a monster and nothing in 4 years has come close to changing that story. Not even a little bit yet.

 

[step.eng69]

Would be epic if old Jer found innocent a late day. Does PSU get all refund?

Nope, the BOT found the majority of accusers worthy of a settlement provided they indemnify TSM of future law suits.

 

[Obliviax]

I'm not surprised that a few people are holding out hope still here, but it's borderline delusional at this point. What PSU did was idiotic, but it has nothing to do with the victims at the trial who testified that they spent time ALONE with Jerry and he molested them. Jerry still has no defense for that. I love a good conspiracy theory every now and then, but for Jerry to be "INNOCENT"....a SHIT TON of people had to lie. Saying a victim is a bad egg doesn't mean he lied about what Jerry did. It's a good common defense tactic, but like the hooker who asked to be raped....but it doesn't mean a crime didn't occur.

I'm looking forward to the Pitt game. This crap has really run it's course when it comes to Jerry is innocent IMO. I'm all for finding out why and how the school decided to blame a HC and a sport for all of this in order to shell out millions, but I don't think Jerry Sandusky is some sad mistaken victim. He's a monster and nothing in 4 years has come close to changing that story. Not even a little bit yet.

Agree its run its course but I'll end with this...if you are in the biz (helping at risk kids) and haven't been accused, you are the exception. These accusations happen every day. My wife used to get business discovering kids that were "coached". This is quite often done in child custody hearings where the ex wife doesn't want to have to deal with joint custody with dad. I'll bet, if you walk down to the closest court house, there is a daily hearing on similar cases. I know a Dad who got out of the shower to answer the phone and didn't close the bathroom door. When his ex found out their pre-teen daughter saw him, she filed charges. I know another Dad who came close to being charged because he was coaching a youth soccer team and a little girl jumped into his arms after scoring a goal and he put his arms around her butt to keep from dropping her...mother filed a complaint with the league and threatened legal action. I could go on...it is a reason why few men work in the field and why the system is such a mess. So, no, I wouldn't be shocked (just surprised) if one day Jerry got released.

 

[redbyrds]

You are welcome to your own opinions. I just don't happen to subscribe to them.

Let the OAG put any and all who claims to be a victim of JS on the stand. Maybe we will get a chance to vet some of this ridiculous claims that Penn State has absurdly paid to accusers. Jerry Sandusky's trial was patently unfair and he deserves a new trial. The use of repressed memory therapy is a totally unreliable way of getting an accuser to make a factual report of CSA.

So you want to put the victims on trial instead of the perpetrator??

I am sure some got money who were undeserving, but all???

God, I hope you are never on a jury of any kind...

 

[elvis63]

When you have a guy locked up forever , there's little reason to have another trial .

However , I guarantee by some lotto jackpot chance there is another trial they will bring other victims into the mix and bury Jerry for much longer.

He did it, he's staying in jail .

 

[LaJolla Lion]

Agree its run its course but I'll end with this...if you are in the biz (helping at risk kids) and haven't been accused, you are the exception. These accusations happen every day. My wife used to get business discovering kids that were "coached". This is quite often done in child custody hearings where the ex wife doesn't want to have to deal with joint custody with dad. I'll bet, if you walk down to the closest court house, there is a daily hearing on similar cases. I know a Dad who got out of the shower to answer the phone and didn't close the bathroom door. When his ex found out their pre-teen daughter saw him, she filed charges. I know another Dad who came close to being charged because he was coaching a youth soccer team and a little girl jumped into his arms after scoring a goal and he put his arms around her butt to keep from dropping her...mother filed a complaint with the league and threatened legal action. I could go on...it is a reason why few men work in the field and why the system is such a mess. So, no, I wouldn't be shocked (just surprised) if one day Jerry got released.

Great stories Obli, but none really have much to do with Jerry's case. False claims do occur (70's for instance in this case). Real victims don't always come forward too. Innocent people do go to jail. I get that, but it would be great if this unicorn actually had some real evidence behind it. To date it doesn't. PSU fans hoping and praying still that it was all just a bad dream is a little bit pathetic now. Maybe I'll be shocked one day and it comes down that it was all just one big made up lie. Prosecutors, detectives, victims, parents, lawyers...all of them lied. If that day comes and people need to vent on me as they can't handle that I believe he did this...so be it. Jerry Sandusky is a useless POS and is not in my life.

Beat Pitt!!!!

 

[PSUEngineerx2]

Has anyone read Pendergrast's books? Is he a kook, or does he have actual credibility?

Just an FYI, 1996 book (I have not read).

 

[elvis63]

Agree its run its course but I'll end with this...if you are in the biz (helping at risk kids) and haven't been accused, you are the exception. These accusations happen every day. My wife used to get business discovering kids that were "coached". This is quite often done in child custody hearings where the ex wife doesn't want to have to deal with joint custody with dad. I'll bet, if you walk down to the closest court house, there is a daily hearing on similar cases. I know a Dad who got out of the shower to answer the phone and didn't close the bathroom door. When his ex found out their pre-teen daughter saw him, she filed charges. I know another Dad who came close to being charged because he was coaching a youth soccer team and a little girl jumped into his arms after scoring a goal and he put his arms around her butt to keep from dropping her...mother filed a complaint with the league and threatened legal action. I could go on...it is a reason why few men work in the field and why the system is such a mess. So, no, I wouldn't be shocked (just surprised) if one day Jerry got released.

There are false accusations. There are also victims that don't ever come forward and predators who are never caught .

And there's guys like Jerry , who go caught and was put away forever , basically . So sll these folk are lying and Jerry couldn't convince a jury?

Maybe because at best he comes off as creepy . Add that in with the tens of victims interviewed and those that did testify , and yeah, be deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life.

 

[indynittany]

....When actual hard evidence comes out showing multiple victims made this up, I'm raise my eyebrows....

So you must support awarding Jerry a new trial. Otherwise, through what process might this possibility be explored?

 

[getmyjive11]

 

[LaJolla Lion]

So you must support awarding Jerry a new trial. Otherwise, through what process might this possibility be explored?

I don't care if he gets a new trial. I don't care if he drops dead either.

 

[PSUEngineerx2]

Just an FYI, 1996 book (I have not read).

View embedded media

View embedded media

This link has several reviews of this book:

http://upperaccess.com/processxml.asp?tid=VM2-R&StyleSheet=title.xsl


Victims of Memory (2nd Edition)
Sex Abuse Accusations and Shattered Lives

By MARK PENDERGRAST

Each year, more than a million Americans are convinced by their therapists (or by misguided "self-help" books) that their childhoods were not as happy as they thought—that they harbored repressed memories of horrendous abuse by their parents, other relatives, and even satanic cults. Their identities are destroyed, their pasts rewritten, and their families are torn apart.

Several books have been written about this strange phenomenon, some of them very good, but Pendergrast's has been consistently acclaimed by reviewers as the most comprehensive, balanced, and readable coverage of the topic. Originally published in 1995, the book was so highly received that a second edition came out just a year later.

What People are Saying
"An impressive display of scholarship...a comprehensive treatment of the recovered-memories controversy.... Pendergrast offers a broader portrayal of the social and cultural contexts of the recovered-memories phenomenon [than other books on the subject]. His treatment is also distinguished by some welcome historical perspective.... Pendergrast demonstrates a laudable ability to lay out all sides of the argument.... [He] renders a sympathetic portrayal of recovery therapists as well-intentioned but misinformed players in a drama that has veered out of control." -- Daniel L. Schacter, Scientific American

"An even-handed treatment that presents all the different positions with empathy." --Psychological Reports

"Anyone touched by the subject of repressed memories would do well to read this book." -- Burton Einspruch, M.D., Journal of the American Medical Association

"Victims of Memory constitutes the most ambitious and comprehensive, as well as the most emotionally committed, of all the studies before us. Pendergrast's book stands out from the others in several respects. For one thing, it transcribes his numerous interviews...allowing the cruel unreason of the recovery movement to be voiced with a minimum of editorial mediation. Second, he is the author who delves most deeply into the movement's antecedents in witchcraft lore, mesmerism, early hypnotherapy, and the treatment of so-called hysteria.... Third, Pendergrast offers illuminating material about physiological states (sleep paralysis, panic attacks) that have traditionally been mistaken for "body memories" of one lurid kind or another. And it is Pendergrast who devotes the most effort to analyzing the contemporary Zeitgeist in which the recovery movement thrives" -- Frederick Crews, The New York Review of Books

"Pendergrast has written a well-researched and important book, and his findings should rightfully scare all of us.... Pendergrast tries for evenhandedness, going so far as to offer in-their-own-words chapters by those with repressed memories and the therapists who treat them. But there is also a chapter from the 'retractors,' women who have realized that their memories of abuse were only products of their own imagination. Pendergrast's account of this controversial subject is wide-ranging. He covers everything from the nature of memory and hypnosis to such related forms of sexual hysteria as the Salem Witch Trials to this country's growing cult of victimization.... His strongest and most effective assaults are reserved for the book The Courage to Heal , the bible of the repressed-memory movement.... Pendergrast makes a strong case that what began as a way to empower women has now victimized them, isolating them from friends, families, and their true memories. This is a book sure to spark a long-overdue debate, and it deserves to be on library shelves, right beside The Courage to Heal." -- Ilene Cooper, Booklist

"Victims of Memory is an impressive account of remembering and misremembering events of vital personal importance. Pendergrast, a distinguished journalist, provides a readable and scholarly treatment of the issues that converge when we consider the mnemonic consequences of childhood sexual abuse. His style is engaging -- even riveting.... Pendergrast provides a magnificent account of the evidence and thinking that underlie claims of recovered vs. false memories. His analysis forces us to confront a series of difficult questions about the historical and social factors that operate to create the present accusatory climate. All in all, Victims of Memory should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding the current controversy." -- Peter Ornstein and Catherine Haden, American Scientist

" By far the most thorough journalism done on this issue [the recovered memory debate] appears in Victims of Memory." -- Katy Butler, Los Angeles Times

"Victims of Memory is...a comprehensive study of a disturbing phenomenon which began to sweep the U.S. in the mid-Eighties, reaching Britain in the early Nineties." -- Sarah Strickland, The London Observer

"A much-acclaimed rebuttal to various bibles of the recovered-memory movement." --Richard Marius, Harvard Magazine

"Victims of Memory traces the roots of a phenomenon that exploded in the late 1980s and is now reaping a thunderous backlash. Pendergrast interviews therapists, survivors and "retractors" -- accusers who withdraw their allegations and, in some cases, sue their therapists for malpractice. He explores a variety of contexts for the phenomenon, from Freudian theory and witchcraft hysteria to fundamentalist religion and the modern feminist movement. Informing Pendergrast's book is a deep sense of social history." -- Joseph P. Kahn, The Boston Globe

"By far the best, most detailed, most accurate, most compassionate history of this tragic witch-hunt isVictims of Memory." -- Martin Gardner, The Skeptical Inquirer

"Explosive material -- massive researched and lucidly argued." -- Ann Diamond, Montreal Gazette

"This latest entry on false memory syndrome is the most readable to date....The author discusses why the 'repressed memory' phenomenon is so prevalent today and also offers a short history of other psychological fads. Recommended." -- Library Journal

"Pendergrast worries that false accusations will ultimately weaken the case of those who really were violated....Well documented and very readable. All levels." -- V. L. Bullough, Choice

"Victims of Memory is the best exploration I have seen of the social forces that permit the development of a phenomenon such as the 'recovered' memories movement....This book is indispensable for anyone interested in the role of psychologists and radical feminists in shaping American culture and the 'recovered' memory movement itself." -- Martha Churchill,Transitions

"Victims of Memory remains the best general overview [of the recovered memory debate and 'Christian' counselors' involvement] available." --Cornerstone

"This is a fascinating and scholarly work...a book of heart, soul, and intelligence. It should be required reading for everyone in any kind of therapy or recovery." -- Sherry Armendariz, Small Press Review

"This book attempts to address the phenomenon of recovered memory in a thorough and comprehensive way, compelling the reader to consider very carefully the scientific evidence currently available about how human memory works, and, perhaps more importantly, how it doesn't work." -- Karen M. Donahey, Doody's Health Sciences Book Review Journal

"Though this book is aimed at specific problems, it contains a universal message of folly and tragedy: people tend to see what they want to see, and to find whatever it is they are looking for. If they look for witches, or people possessed by demons, or 'hidden memories,' they find them. In searching the chartless depths of the subconscious, the monsters and serpents that can be found are limited only by the power of the imagination." -- Scott Owens, Gannett News Service

"Powerful and impassioned, Victims of Memory should be essential reading for all counselors, clients, parents and children. Whatever side of the controversy you stand on, this book will shake you up and force you to re-examine your assumptions." -- Bruce Wilson, Vancouver Sun

"Victims of Memory is an expose made all the more convincing by Pendergrast's evident compassion and respect for the suffering of all concerned, from survivors of real incest and abuse to those whose needs, confusion -- or therapists -- lead them to convince themselves that they, too, are victims.... I find it hard to believe that anyone who reads from one end of Victims of Memory to the other can still accept the sort of virulent nonsense exemplified by The Courage to Heal." -- William Craig, Valley News

"Sensible therapists with a grip on their profession's limitations helped rescue many of the patients whose case histories Pendergrast documents. But the worst therapists can be found across the board -- from 'Christian counselors' who might have taken a workshop once and see Satan's hand behind every neurosis to totalitarian psychiatrists. -- Mike Miner, Chicago Reader

"Pendergrast is emphatic on two points. He abhors incest and sexual abuse and hopes that his book will help true victims by weeding out the false. But he compares the research behind repressed memories, some of them 'retrieved' through dreams, truth serums, hypnosis and massage, with 'cultural folklore'." -- Molly Walsh, Burlington Free Press

"According to mental health professionals who subscribe to Pendergrast's point of view, [Victims of Memory ] is one of the best-researched, most thorough studies of the theory that memories of a traumatic childhood can be fabricated." -- Anne Rochell, The Atlanta Journal/Constitution

 

[LafayetteBear]

Sigh...

 

[BBG65]

I 100% believe a number of the victims were lying for the millions of dollars on the table and they were coached to do so by slimy lawyers like Shubin. I believe Sandusky was railroaded at his trial, but I also believe he is guilty of some of the charges thrown at him and is a pedophile. Except for the millions of dollars PSU improperly paid out, it doesn't matter as Jerry belongs in jail anyway.

 

[Legion of Lions]

Like I said...they all were liars and it was just the money. They all got together and made the whole thing up. It's all just a bad dream guys...it didn't happen. Jerry had no access to these victims when they were children. He wasn't really told to stay away from kids in the shower but kept doing it. It was just a money thing. Got it.

When actual hard evidence comes out showing multiple victims made this up, I'm raise my eyebrows. That has not occurred. I get a few people wishing this wasn't true, but it's borderline fantasy at this point in time. I'm not saying every victim that got paid was a boy scout and honest, but I think a few little kids were touched by the tickle monster. If you want to hold out hope it was all a bad dream, but all means...go ahead.

How come you are so sure that there is ZERO% chance Sandusky's alleged crimes would stand up in a courtroom which put JUSTICE first!! By Justice, I mean a balance of testimony for both sides. DID NOT HAPPEN!!! PA OAG conducted the trial for Sandsuky EXACTLY like the media conducted "the court of Public Opinion" which convicted Paterno. NO FACTS....all allegations, speculations and "highly probable" exaggerations.

There are just too many of what I call "machined parts" to the total "Story" the state of PA presented with too many highly probable corruption points for Sandusky to be 100% Guilty as charged. FACT--- The jury pool was tainted, the accusers got extreme protection from cross examination necessary to vett these accusations. There are too many $$$$ motives for the key players in this comedy to "bend the truth"..

What is lost here is NOT...REPEAT NOT...is Jerry "innocent..." It is WAS THE TRIAL FAIR and did a Balance of Justice have chance of being what the courts delivered.

HONESTLY....I see puppet strings at this trial and highly credible motives for railroading this matter into the Public outrage that has become the "Story".

 

[Frabjous]

Thought provoking article by Mark Pendergrast about the use of repressed memory therapy to convict Sandusky and why it is not reliable. Pendergrast ends the article with a plea to the Pennsylvania judiciary system - "Let’s hope that the justices will allow testimony about repressed memories in the Sandusky case."

http://thecrimereport.org/2016/09/07/why-jerry-sandusky-may-be-innocent/

Thanks just the same, but I'm afraid you are in the Egyptian river...

 

[LaJolla Lion]

How come you are so sure that there is ZERO% chance Sandusky's alleged crimes would stand up in a courtroom which put JUSTICE first!! By Justice, I mean a balance of testimony for both sides. DID NOT HAPPEN!!! PA OAG conducted the trial for Sandsuky EXACTLY like the media conducted "the court of Public Opinion" which convicted Paterno. NO FACTS....all allegations, speculations and "highly probable" exaggerations.

There are just too many of what I call "machined parts" to the total "Story" the state of PA presented with too many highly probable corruption points for Sandusky to be 100% Guilty as charged. FACT--- The jury pool was tainted, the accusers got extreme protection from cross examination necessary to vett these accusations. There are too many $$$$ motives for the key players in this comedy to "bend the truth"..

What is lost here is NOT...REPEAT NOT...is Jerry "innocent..." It is WAS THE TRIAL FAIR and did a Balance of Justice have chance of being what the courts delivered.

HONESTLY....I see puppet strings at this trial and highly credible motives for railroading this matter into the Public outrage that has become the "Story".

Because his victims all testified as adults and Jerry had nothing to refute it. Justice isn't always fair, but sometimes the bad guys are actually guilty. Sorry I'm not behind the Justice for Jerry camp guys...he sucks. Beat Pitt....F Jerry!!!!

 

[Obliviax]

Because his victims all testified as adults and Jerry had nothing to refute it. Justice isn't always fair, but sometimes the bad guys are actually guilty. Sorry I'm not behind the Justice for Jerry camp guys...he sucks. Beat Pitt....F Jerry!!!!

I have to say that you are highly naive. You need to spend some time in the criminal justice system.

 

[LaJolla Lion]

I have to say that you are highly naive. You need to spend some time in the criminal justice system.

I have to say your pretty much a blind homer that would rather believe a serial pedophile is possibly innocent than deal with the actual reality of the situation. It's easy to toss stones obli, really easy. You are talking out of BOTH sides of your mouth hear and walking that line like a seasoned pro. You think he is probably guilty, but that 5% (I think itwas 1% a while back for you) means everyone needs to believe your fairy tale? Who exactly is naive here again?

 

[getmyjive11]

How come you are so sure that there is ZERO% chance Sandusky's alleged crimes would stand up in a courtroom which put JUSTICE first!! By Justice, I mean a balance of testimony for both sides. DID NOT HAPPEN!!! PA OAG conducted the trial for Sandsuky EXACTLY like the media conducted "the court of Public Opinion" which convicted Paterno. NO FACTS....all allegations, speculations and "highly probable" exaggerations.

There are just too many of what I call "machined parts" to the total "Story" the state of PA presented with too many highly probable corruption points for Sandusky to be 100% Guilty as charged. FACT--- The jury pool was tainted, the accusers got extreme protection from cross examination necessary to vett these accusations. There are too many $$$$ motives for the key players in this comedy to "bend the truth"..

What is lost here is NOT...REPEAT NOT...is Jerry "innocent..." It is WAS THE TRIAL FAIR and did a Balance of Justice have chance of being what the courts delivered.

HONESTLY....I see puppet strings at this trial and highly credible motives for railroading this matter into the Public outrage that has become the "Story".

Considering that Jerry picked both of his attorneys and that he had the chance to take the stand and confront his accusers and didn't, I'd say that it was a perfectly fair trial. So the time was compressed, so what? Give him 100 years and he still wouldn't have been able to defend his actions. They were indefensible.

 

[berklion]

I never met Sandusky or knew much about him before 2011. Was he a liar before? did he BS players and recruits. Was he caught in lies at TSM? I didn't think so. Although the convictions against him give him motive, I thought he was generally thought of as an outstanding guy. Maybe goofy.

 

[psuro]

Someone notify Linda Cohn.

 

[getmyjive11]

I never met Sandusky or knew much about him before 2011. Was he a liar before? did he BS players and recruits. Was he caught in lies at TSM? I didn't think so. Although the convictions against him give him motive, I thought he was generally thought of as an outstanding guy. Maybe goofy.

Well, he lied about the reason why he wanted to take boys places, or have them sleep over. It seems that his whole life outside of football was a massive lie; one that he made in order to groom and then assault his victims.

 

[LaJolla Lion]

I never met Sandusky or knew much about him before 2011. Was he a liar before? did he BS players and recruits. Was he caught in lies at TSM? I didn't think so. Although the convictions against him give him motive, I thought he was generally thought of as an outstanding guy. Maybe goofy.

The thing is nice guy predators are "nice guys" to the outside world. That is how they operate and get room to operate.

 

[Ten Thousan Marbles]

Has anyone read Pendergrast's books? Is he a kook, or does he have actual credibility?

Doesn't seem like a kook.

However, if he is writing a book specifically about JS, it seems like that is kind of a sequel to or companion to his other memory book.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Pendergrast

 

[francofan]

So you want to put the victims on trial instead of the perpetrator??

I am sure some got money who were undeserving, but all???

God, I hope you are never on a jury of any kind...

I would like to see Sandusky get a fair trial. IMHO, his first trial wasn't anything close.

If JS is fortunate enough to win a new trial, he has a right to face his accusers and challenge their testimony. I don't think the testimony of the accusers has yet been rigorously vetted. If you consider that putting the victims on trial, that is your prerogative. If there is a new trial, it will be JS on trial for his freedom; and I believe the verdict will rest on the credibility of the accusers.

 

[Rollin Stone]

Do most people realize that there wasn't any proof presented at the trial that he did do these things to the accusers, just them saying that he did them. Shouldn't that account for something?

It is not up to the defense to prove he didn't do it, how do you prove a negative. The prosecution must prove that he did it. Plus he's not required to take the stand, and he's claiming that Amendola talked him out of taking the stand and that he wanted to defend himself. That's one of the reasons he claiming ineffective counsel.

It's easy to say, "oh I would take the stand and defend myself" but when your lawyer thinks that the trial is going well for you and that you don't need to take the stand and that it's a risk, then you would probably listen to your lawyer.

Just think about it for a minute, if a child or a female colleague accused you of sexually abusing them....Now prove that you didn't do it. It just their word against yours and the way the social climate is currently you are Guilty until proven innocent.

So go ahead and try to prove that the two of you weren't alone for a specific period of time and you didn't do what they say you did to them. And now also remember that these accusers didn't even have to prove a day or time of occurrence.

Think about how your life would be destroyed by someone making that claim.

 

[NitFan1974]

Spoiler alert , he's as guilty as sin. This line has not been proven yet and is pure speculation . The OAG had twenty others victims ready to go .

He's where he belongs , and he's staying there.

Shame on you. Let's believe the "victims" so we can feel good about ourselves while they screw our school out of $$$ and Joe out of his good name. PATHETIC!

 

[marshall23]

The Commonwealth holds the responsibility for blowing up PSU for reasons we can only speculate. No matter how you twist the JS saga, guilty, innocent.....DPW, CYS, JUSTICE SYSTEM, LE, TSM ,OAG deserve 98 percent of the blame.
I think those of us who believe JS deserves a fair trial are troubled by this and the methods of the prosecution. The lying police, the crying janitor, no V2, Schultzs' secret file.........the recruiting of victims, the leaking of GJ information. If JS is one of the worst pedophiles ever.........why all the smoke and mirrors?