Jerry Sandusky Denied New Trial by Court of Appeals
Jerry Sandusky's appeal for a new trial has been denied by a three-judge Superior Court panel. They made the unanimous decision, but Sandusky's attorney has said he will ask the Supreme Court to review the case.
Sandusky complained that his lawyers did not have enough time to prepare his case; he also claimed that the prosecutor made inappropriate comments about him not testifying on his own behalf and that the judge in the case mishandled two jury instructions. His claims were rejected by the three-judge panel.
"The decision does not reflect a myopic insistence upon expeditiousness in the face of Sandusky's request," Judge Jack Panella wrote in the opinion. "It was not an arbitrary denial."
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"The trial court specifically instructed the jury that they were to consider any possible motives of the victims in coming forward," Judge Panella added. "The vigorous cross-examination of the victims and arguments by defense counsel, when combined with the trial court's instructions on credibility, clearly defined the issues for the jury."
Sandusky, 69, is currently serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence at a state prison in Pennsylvania. He was indicted on 52 counts of child molestation and went to trial the following year on 48 of those counts. Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of the 48 charges and sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison and a maximum of 60 years.
If his conviction is not overturned, Sandusky will likely spend his remaining days behind bars and die in prison. His wife, Dottie, wrote to Judge John Cleland after her husband was found guilty but before he was sentenced; she asked for leniency for her husband of 46 years.
"Jerry always put others before himself and always wanted to make each person feel special no matter who they were," Dottie wrote. "Like all of us he has his faults, one is he cares so much for people always wanting them to reach their potential. Therefore he pushed them hard. I never saw him doing anything inappropriate to any child. Jerry is not the monster everyone is making him out to be."
Sandusky's lawyers will now appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
