<p>Is anyone here familiar with NAMBLA? I remember listening to one of the groups leaders years ago and his philosophy was that what most people recognize as pedophilia is simply a loving relationship between a man and a boy. They don’t get that it is a devastating violation of these young boys. They’re just not on the same playing field as everybody else.
And perhaps Paterno’s wife should have said Joe is getting chemo and daily radiation. That would be correct.</p>
<p>^^^There are some forms of cancer where one takes daily oral or injected chemo. Not sure if that applies with JP’s form of lung cancer.</p>
<p>Regarding Amendola’s puzzling strategy of allowing his client to talk publicly, this article has several theories: </p>
<p>The admission that Sandusky maintained contact with several of the GJ victims during the investigation demonstrates that the relationships continued to be positive, showing the jury pool that the victims didn’t see Ol’ Jerry as such a bad guy. </p>
<p>The interviews could be seen as witness tampering. Amendola apparently believed that several of the victims would testify in Sandusky’s favor, so these interviews could be a way of trying to telegraph a defense strategy to them. </p>
<p>Or they could be seen as witness intimidation – “Victims, be careful. We are prepared to make things very nasty for you in court by saying that YOU viewed these relationships as positive.”</p>
<p>There could be legal strategy behind the interviews:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[Did</a> Unorthodox Sandusky Defense Strategy Include Contact with Grand Jury Witnesses? - News - ABA Journal](<a href=“Did Unorthodox Sandusky Defense Strategy Include Contact with Grand Jury Witnesses?”>Did Unorthodox Sandusky Defense Strategy Include Contact with Grand Jury Witnesses?)</p>
<p>One of my theories (not in the article) is that Amendola thinks Sandusky is a likeable character whose image will benefit from media exposure. Of course, Amendola himself is a pedophile, so he obviously doesn’t understand how creepy Sandusky looks to non-pedophiles.</p>
<p>[Penn</a> State could pay millions in lawyer, PR fees from Jerry Sandusky scandal | PennLive.com](<a href=“http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/12/penn_state_could_pay_millions.html]Penn”>Penn State could pay millions in lawyer, PR fees from Jerry Sandusky scandal - pennlive.com)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It could be that two public relations firms PSU hired are recommending giving interviews such as the one Anne Rohrbach recently gave to the NY times, in which she said the scandal has had no effect on applications.</p>
<p>And the two law firms PSU hired may be recommending showing no contrition, because that could lead to liability down the road.</p>
<p>If the prosecution does their job well and educates the jury on the psychology of the victims of sexual abuse, the fact that some of the victims maintained contact with Sandunsky will be explained within that context. It is not unusual for victims to maintain a relationship with the perpetrator and even be able to see some of the relationship as positive, or convince themselves that it is. </p>
<p>It is a complicated issue. They were or are children and children will go to great lengths to rationalize an adults behavior. They blame themselves when adults misbehave or behave in a confusing manner and a pedophile is well aware of those vulnerabilities. It is often not until adulthood that a victim will be able to see clearly that they were victimized.</p>
<p>Hopefully, the prosecution will get expert testimony to that effect.</p>
<p>Well, look at the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard. She said that even when the police told her they knew she was kidnapped, she couldn’t say her real name, because she had been so threatened over the years to never tell anyone. She had to write it down.</p>
<p>She also said that the day her abductor got arrested, she was nervous for him, and was hoping the police would let him go. At first.</p>
<p>^ Stockholm Syndrome - common in hostage situations.</p>
<p>I remember that Elizabeth Smart behaved similarly, and she was not even gone as long as Jaycee Dugard. </p>
<p>I’ve tried to keep an open mind about this, but it is hard not to assume guilt when there are multiple victims testifying to a grand jury, and also an eyewitness.</p>
<p>This is excellent! If it’s true that Penn State will de-emphasize football and instead present an scholarly face to the public, that’s exactly the sort of reform I was hoping would come out of this tragedy. Too bad it took something si horrible to trigger a long over-due reassessment of priorities.</p>
<p>[Penn</a> State rethinks focus on football ? USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/story/2011-12-06/penn-state-rodney-erickson-interview-football-emphasis/51686080/1]Penn”>http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/story/2011-12-06/penn-state-rodney-erickson-interview-football-emphasis/51686080/1)</p>
<p>Excerpt:</p>
<p>In his first extensive interview since taking office last month, Penn State President Rodney Erickson told USA TODAY on Tuesday that he is seeking to transform the university’s public image from a football school to a “world class research institution.”</p>
<p>“We want that to be the front face of the university,” said Erickson, who succeeded former president Graham Spanier, who was fired last month along with Paterno.</p>
<p>In a wide-ranging discussion, the former geography professor talked about the task of steadying the sprawling university in the aftermath of “shocking” abuse charges; an ambitious effort to reach out to child abuse victims across the country; and an attempt to remake a school — long known as “Linebacker U” for the NFL-caliber players it produced — more in his own image as Penn State’s soft-spoken former chief academic officer.</p>
<p>The abuse charges, Erickson said, should supply new “urgency for discussions about the role of big-time athletics and where they interact with higher education.”</p>
<p>Kudos to Erickson. He gets it.</p>
<p>Let’s see if they limit the salary of the football coach to that of the President of the University.</p>
<p>Right. Put the money where the mouth is.</p>
<p>I bet the football coach gets a contract of at least $1 million a year and would not be shocked if was $2 million. What is the school president paid?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In the GJ report, “victim 7” stated that in the weeks prior to his GJ testimony, he received calls from Sandusky, Sandusky’s wife, and a Sandusky “friend” asking him to return their calls, which were of great importance. He declined to return these calls. </p>
<p>Kind of makes you wonder…</p>
<p>“Victims, be careful. We are prepared to make things very nasty for you in court by saying that YOU viewed these relationships as positive.” </p>
<p>That would be an extremely dangerous defense. But, from what I have observed so far from that camp, I would not be surprised.</p>
<p>Yes, most defense attorneys think that attacking victims, in or out of court, can backfire bigtime. But then, most defense attorneys also think that the defendant giving interviews can backfire, and as they have in this case. Amendola seems to have an uncoventional approach. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Nobody should make the mistake of thinking Amendola is a fool. He’s been incredibly successful in defending the indefensible in court settings. The really awful thing this week has been his constant chirping about how “glad” they are that the victims will be in court and generally setting an undercurrent of “are you brave enough to testify when CNN is here? because I’m coming after all of you” which makes my skin crawl.</p>
<p>^ Screams of desperation. We’ll see how he (Amendola) does in this case.</p>
<p>I agree. He’s crazy like a fox. I would hope that the victims know that public opinion is behind them.</p>
<p>I don’t know how this man can live with himself.</p>
<p>[U.S</a>. News - Sandusky rearrested in Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/07/9277811-sandusky-rearrested-in-pennsylvania]U.S”>http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/07/9277811-sandusky-rearrested-in-pennsylvania)</p>