Criminal Minds

Two men were found guilty of a crime on Monday.

One in a court of law.

One in a court of public opinion.

One could go to jail for four years.

One will live in hell for the rest of his life.

Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson.

A jury found that “Dr.” Murray was guilty of giving the King of Pop the drugs that eventually killed him.

For some fans of Jackson, this may feel somewhat satisfying.

For me, it really doesn’t mean much.

The bottom line is Michael Jackson is gone.

And even with the guilty verdict, he’s not coming back.

Twitter exploded when the news came out.

It’s amazing how many different ways you can say CONRAD MURRAY GUILTY!!! in 140 characters.

Or less.

Murray will be sentenced on November 29.

And that’s the last we will hear of him.

Hopefully.

The other case is just starting.

And we don’t know yet just how ugly this will get.

What we do know is that Jerry Sandusky is an animal.

A lion.

A Nittany Lion.

Since 1963, he has spent his life at Penn State.

First as a player.  Then as an Assistant Coach.  Then as the Defensive Coordinator.

He retired from active football duty in 1999.

But has remained on campus until as recently as last week.

But everything he accomplished on the football field has been wiped out by what he may have done off the field.

Sandusky was arrested Saturday.

Charged with molesting boys.

Eight boys.

In a 15-year period.

What Sandusky is being accused of is beyond criminal.

But the details of these crimes will change the lives of many beyond this sick 67-year-old.

And his eight innocent victims.

Or more.

In 1977, Sandusky started a program to help at-risk youths.

Apparently Sandusky thought that helping them meant touching them.

And slapping them.

And groping them.

And assaulting them.

And molesting them.

And raping them.

There are 40 charges in all.

Most of which include some type of legal mumbo jumbo.

Like corruption of minors.

Endangering the welfare of a child.

Unlawful contact.

Whatever you want to call it, Jerry Sandusky is accused of being one of the sickest people on the planet.

A pedophile disguised as a great guy.

Someday he will get his day in court.

But he will never change the way we will always remember him.

Even with all that he has done though, Sandusky is not the only guilty party here.

In 2002, a Penn State grad assistant watched the former defensive coordinator performing offensive behavior.

With a boy.

A boy believed to be 10-years-old.

Sandusky was assaulting that naked boy in a shower.

A shower located on the Penn State campus.

But instead of trying to stop the attack.

Or going to the police.

That grad assistant did what everybody would do on the Penn State campus.

They ran to dad.

Or in this case grandpa.

Joe Paterno has been the head coach at Penn State since 1966.

The 84-year-old is the all-time winningest coach in the history of college football.

And by all accounts, he has run one of the cleanest programs in the country.

Until now.

Upon hearing of this horrendous allegation back in 2002, Paterno waited a day.

And then he told the school’s Athletic Director Tim Curley.

Who told the senior vice president of business and finance, Gary Schultz.

And within weeks, this story was gone.

Before it became a story.

Poof.

Just like that.

The two school administrators had found a giant rug.

And pushed this program-destructing allegation under it.

I’m sure I left a few details out.

I had to leave something for Nancy Grace.

But the bottom line is for nine years Joe Paterno knew about this.

And for nine years, Joe Paterno did nothing.

Tim Curley did nothing.

Gary Schultz did nothing.

Penn State did nothing.

The police knew nothing.

At least they were not contacted by the university.

As it is required by state law.

This was not just a grown man doing inappropriate things.

This was a grown man, representing a state college.

In State College.

For 30 years.

Performing unlawful sex acts on a child.

On the school campus.

Witnessed by a member of the football program.

Being covered up.

Not even Joe Paterno can get out of this mess.

And he’s got nobody to blame.

But the man in the mirror.