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Open Letter to Judge Boccabella requesting no jail for Spanier from Sue Paterno, Snedden, Lubrano, Schmidt, Schultz, Lord and McCombie

francofan

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Oct 26, 2015
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An Open Letter to Judge John Boccabella:

We are encouraging you to give careful consideration in adjudicating the egregious miscarriage of justice in the misdemeanor case against Dr. Graham Spanier, the former President of the Pennsylvania State University.

In this misdemeanor case, any form of incarceration of Dr. Spanier, a 72 year-old, non-violent individual with no criminal history and serious medical conditions, serves only as vengeance and has no socially-redeeming value.

Due to Dr. Spanier’s medical conditions, specifically late stage cancer and substantive heart problems, recklessly exposing him to the inherent dangers of incarceration, which includes COVID, would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Notwithstanding Dr. Spanier’s extremely severe medical conditions, this case has been fraught with blatant prosecutorial misconduct, violation of constitutional rights, collusion, witness tampering and jury tampering accomplished by prosecutorial and investigative entities some of whom have since been disciplined for their actions in this case.

In addition, the jury foreman in Dr. Spanier’s trial has indicated that he wishes he would have acquitted Dr. Spanier. Another juror stated she was not convinced Dr. Spanier knew but voted against him because “he should have known;" both instances raise great doubt in regard to the jury decision.

This occasion affords you the opportunity to be on the right side of history in a misdemeanor case that should have never been brought.

Sincerely,

John Snedden, retired NCIS special agent

Al Lord, former Penn State trustee

Gary Schultz, former Penn State vice-president

Anthony Lubrano, Penn State trustee

Maribeth Roman Schmidt, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship

Sue Paterno, wife of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno

Ryan McCombie, former Navy SEAL commander & former PSU trustee

 
An Open Letter to Judge John Boccabella:

We are encouraging you to give careful consideration in adjudicating the egregious miscarriage of justice in the misdemeanor case against Dr. Graham Spanier, the former President of the Pennsylvania State University.

In this misdemeanor case, any form of incarceration of Dr. Spanier, a 72 year-old, non-violent individual with no criminal history and serious medical conditions, serves only as vengeance and has no socially-redeeming value.

Due to Dr. Spanier’s medical conditions, specifically late stage cancer and substantive heart problems, recklessly exposing him to the inherent dangers of incarceration, which includes COVID, would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Notwithstanding Dr. Spanier’s extremely severe medical conditions, this case has been fraught with blatant prosecutorial misconduct, violation of constitutional rights, collusion, witness tampering and jury tampering accomplished by prosecutorial and investigative entities some of whom have since been disciplined for their actions in this case.

In addition, the jury foreman in Dr. Spanier’s trial has indicated that he wishes he would have acquitted Dr. Spanier. Another juror stated she was not convinced Dr. Spanier knew but voted against him because “he should have known;" both instances raise great doubt in regard to the jury decision.

This occasion affords you the opportunity to be on the right side of history in a misdemeanor case that should have never been brought.

Sincerely,

John Snedden, retired NCIS special agent

Al Lord, former Penn State trustee

Gary Schultz, former Penn State vice-president

Anthony Lubrano, Penn State trustee

Maribeth Roman Schmidt, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship

Sue Paterno, wife of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno

Ryan McCombie, former Navy SEAL commander & former PSU trustee

It’s also interesting to see the noticeably absent names of certain BOT members and influential alumni as endorsing signatories
 
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If that’s a possibility, I’d lend him mine or even buy him a new one?
iu
 
He more deserved jail time for the "Tent of Consent" than for this. Complete joke of a "prosecution". Complete joke of a state.
Back to this - if you had a 17 y/o Freshman (back when that was a word) daughter and she admitted to you she went into the "Tent of Consent" and had sex w/ a 22 y/o senior in the middle of the day on Old Main Lawn....

....well, I would want this p.o.s.'s scalp. If I was in Utah or Oklahoma or Nebraska (where he fled from), I wouldn't be alone.

That said - separate crimes, separate metings of justice.
 
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Back to this - if you had a 17 y/o Freshman (back when that was a word) daughter and she admitted to you she went into the "Tent of Consent" and had sex w/ a 22 y/o senior in the middle of the day on Old Main Lawn....

....well, I would want this p.o.s.'s scalp. If I was in Utah or Oklahoma or Nebraska (where he fled from), I wouldn't be alone.

That said - separate crimes, separate metings of justice.
As a conservative PSU student, I hated Spanier. And when the Sandusky scandal first broke, I desperately wanted Spanier to be revealed as the true architect of the cover-up.

Now I realize how much my biases clouded my thinking. And I certainly now have a better understanding of how this whole thing blew up in the first place, especially since much of the sports media hated Paterno in the same way I hated Spanier and have spent decades “hoping” for a Joe Paterno scandal.
 
As a conservative PSU student, I hated Spanier. And when the Sandusky scandal first broke, I desperately wanted Spanier to be revealed as the true architect of the cover-up.

Now I realize how much my biases clouded my thinking. And I certainly now have a better understanding of how this whole thing blew up in the first place, especially since much of the sports media hated Paterno in the same way I hated Spanier and have spent decades “hoping” for a Joe Paterno scandal.
Yep.
 
Zero impact. Curley and Schultz did time. And I believe Curley had similar Heath concerns and that went nowhere as well. No judge has ever been praised for going easy on “criminals”.
...and half of Clinton County's GDP is still laughing all the way to the bank - and the local car dealerships. It will all come out. John Z (w/all his faults) has these guys pegged. They can't hide their lies forever.
 
a lot depends on the severity of his cancer. jails have released a ton of non-violent criminals due to COVID and that seems to have ushered in a new wave of sympathy for non-violent jailbirds. If you factor in the low level of conviction (misdemeanor) and treatment while in jail it makes complete sense. He could easily be sentenced to having to stay at home. The issue, to me, will be the sympathy he can gain from his illness versus the negative publicity a judge will get by waiving jail time to a child abuse conspirator (not my point of view but the....ahem...cough, cough....media's).

Good luck to him. I was not a fan of his policies but health and the JS situation make that pale in comparison. Now we know the idiocy Spanier dealt with at PSU.
 
Not sure what those signing expect to accomplish.
I believe those signing the letter expect that Judge Boccabella will read the letter and seriously consider not incarcerating Graham Spanier. I believe the decision is a fait accompli and that Boccabella will in all liklihood sentence Spanier for at least of month of jail time to be served in a prison. I am unclear if the letter might help, but I can't see how it will hurt. I personally don't think it hurts to articulate the absurdities of the case and why the case in a miscarriage of justice in plain sight. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a wrongful conviction based on the facts of the case AND based on the law.
 
Funny how Spanier has gone from villain to non villain on this board.

I am also in continued admiration of Sue Paterno.

Don’t sell us short. With focus and determination, we can come full-circle on Spanier.

Agree on Sue. All class.
 
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Don’t sell us short. With focus and determination, we can come full-circle on Spanier.

Agree on Sue. All class.
I am no fan of Spanier, but that has nothing to do with the fact that the man has suffered injustice in this case. I don't like him, but the fact that this has gotten to the point that he might be incarcerated should be disturbing to anyone who believes in and hopes for justice and fairness in legal matters. This is just unjust.
 
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Will Spanier get to speak at this hearing? If so, the expected response is to aplogize and show remorse. I'm not so sure so sure he chooses that path but rather goes down swinging.
 
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Agree with many of you. I think Spanier is an arrogant prick, however he should not be doing jail time.
 
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a lot depends on the severity of his cancer. jails have released a ton of non-violent criminals due to COVID and that seems to have ushered in a new wave of sympathy for non-violent jailbirds. If you factor in the low level of conviction (misdemeanor) and treatment while in jail it makes complete sense. He could easily be sentenced to having to stay at home. The issue, to me, will be the sympathy he can gain from his illness versus the negative publicity a judge will get by waiving jail time to a child abuse conspirator (not my point of view but the....ahem...cough, cough....media's).

Good luck to him. I was not a fan of his policies but health and the JS situation make that pale in comparison. Now we know the idiocy Spanier dealt with at PSU.
What I would like to know is how many 72 year old first offenders regardless of health do time for a misdemeanor? I would guess less than 4-5%. Add to that tha health issues and it probably drops to 1%. Shapiro should be public ally shamed.
 
What I would like to know is how many 72 year old first offenders regardless of health do time for a misdemeanor? I would guess less than 4-5%. Add to that tha health issues and it probably drops to 1%. Shapiro should be public ally shamed.
Something somewhere doesn't add up in all of this when you have Shapiro continuing Corbett's work.
 
Spanier will serve a 2 month sentence at the Centre County correctional facility

What a joke. This is a sentence dictated by espn and the rest of the pathetic media. Because nothing else would ever suffice for the suffering of that "boy, only known to God" (who was hiding in cabin during the trial).

Talk about absurd.
 
Perhaps they think that it is good for people to speak up when they perceive an injustice.
So, writing a letter to the Judge, whom presided over the last trial for Spanier, and pointing out every perceived fault during the process, and basically calling him inept/unprofessional/corrupt will certainly enlighten him and change his mind. I'm guessing he will double down on this and dig in harder. That has been the PA judicial standard so far throughout this whole scandal, so why expect it to change, especially with the same cast of characters.

I also don't like Spanier's politics, and certainly don't know all of the facts in the case (lots of bits and pieces, but everyone certainly clammed up or made peace or buried the paper trail, including Curley, Schultz, the Paternos and the Alumni BOT), but jail time for a misdemeanor is ludicrous.

Best way is to get the top dogs pressuring the PA system. Didn't Spanier get Secret Clearance from the State Department around 2012? Get Obama's team pressuring Shapiro to drop it now or no support from them in the upcoming elections. They certainly vetted Spanier for the clearances. Else wise, I think all other avenues are dead ends with respect to the PA political scene
 
Before I quit FB, Schultz was very approachable. I wonder come October when Spanks is out of the slammer if they all start talking. Or is there a condition on the sentence where they can't tell the state what a pack of useless assholes they are.
 
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Due to the emotions of this entire Sandusky matter there was never a chance that anyone accused would receive a fair process or justice. Anyone who thinks judges are not influenced by politics and public opinion is beyond naive. I know/knew one of the jurists who was very involved in this case. He was a good and decent man who ultimately acquiesced to the politics of the hysteria surrounding the allegations.
This began at the grand jury level when Baldwin tainted and undermined the defense of Curley and Shultz. The only reason JVP was not indicted is he was smart enough to hire his own lawyer.
In my very humble opinion Spanier, Curley and Shultz each made the fatal mistake of not testifying. I understand Tim and Gary never went to trial, and I understand Sandusky would have been savaged had he testified, but Spanier was more than capable of articulating his defense and the moment he decided not to, his fate was sealed. These men were charged with such egregious conduct that they were not going to be acquitted without standing up and saying what they did and why. It is sad that it ends this way for Spanier. Hopefully he will be released early.
 
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