Jurors of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation case say they want the convicted former Penn State assistant coach to be sent to prison for life.
They told The Associated Press they have not had second thoughts about their June verdict, and several plan to attend the sentencing.
“There isn’t a sentence that I believe is harsh enough for what he has done and how it has affected the university,” said Joan Andrews, a juror who has worked for Penn State for 41 years and held football season tickets since 1969. “I don’t think there’s been one individual in this entire campus that has not been affected by this.”
Four jurors said they plan to be in the courtroom when Sandusky, 68, learns the penalty for sexually abusing boys he met through a charity for at-risk children. Sandusky’s own attorney expects his client to be handed a long sentence from Judge John Cleland after conviction on 45 counts.
Although a list of jurors has not been released by Cleland, the AP was able to contact five of them. They said they recently received a letter from the court informing them about the sentencing and offering to have a court official meet them outside the courthouse.
A court system spokesman said the jurors are guaranteed a seat but won’t necessarily be sitting together.
Only one of the five, retired Penn State soil sciences professor Daniel D. Fritton, said he would not attend.
“I’d just like to stay out of the limelight, for one thing,” Fritton said. “I figure I could read in the paper what happens.”
Gayle Barnes, a homemaker and former school district employee, said she thinks a lot about the victims, particularly the eight who testified against Sandusky and provided what she considers the critical evidence of guilt. She said he deserves life in prison.
“I do still feel good, what we as jurors did,” Barnes said. “I didn’t go there saying off the bat he’s guilty. I needed to listen to every single thing that was said.”
Barnes said she has been in touch with a fifth juror and an alternate juror who also plan to attend the sentencing.
High school science teacher Joshua Harper, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Penn State, said that he takes pride in having served on the jury, and that the guilty verdict was not a close call. He wants Sandusky “put away for the rest of his life, really.”
“This is what prisons are for, you know,” Harper said. “I mean, I don’t think you let a guy loose like that.”
He also felt the victim testimony was pivotal.
“It was such a consistent pattern of behavior,” Harper said. “It was just so solid. The defense was just so thin. There was no evidence that these kids were lying. Even the minor inconsistencies that the defense tried to bring up — and did bring up — that made it more convincing.”