COMMENTARY | Judge John Cleland changed some of the conditions of Jerry Sandusky's house arrest, according to CNN. Now, in a somewhat incomprehensible move, Sandusky is allowed to spend time around his grandchildren. Since Sandusky is alleged to have molested minors, this decision comes as something of a shock.
His whole situation is inappropriate. He's under house arrest. Most people facing charges of this sort would be detained in a location characterized by concrete walls, armed guards, searchlights and steel bars. But Sandusky gets all the comforts of home.
Being given permission to spend time around small children also seems like a really bad idea. While it's unlikely anything unpleasant will happen, particularly with parental supervision, it still seems unwise. Sandusky has not been convicted of anything but simple parental prudence would make me wary of letting him anywhere near kids even if he was a family member. Child molestation charges are a bell that cannot be unrung.
There's also the question of what message this sends to the public at large. One function of criminal law is to have punishments severe enough to fit their respective crimes. Another is for those punishments to serve as a deterrent to criminal activity. What message does the Sandusky situation send?
It looks to me the message is that people accused of terrible crimes get treated differently and better than most alleged criminals if their career involved teaching young men to run down 300 feet of grass while carrying an oblong ball.
For some reason American justice treats people involved with sports as a different class of defendant than the norm. It's a shameful way to run the courts and we should not stand for it.
Something about athletes and those surrounding them make Americans lose their minds. All the evidence one needs can be found in the fans of one football team who wear simulated blocks of cheese on their heads at games.
In this case that dedication to sports is contrary to the public good. It's important to stop treating sports figures as a separate class of citizen when faced with the consequences of the law.
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