WATCH: Judge Napolitano Reacts to Jerry Sandusky Sentencing
Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky received his sentence on Tuesday, after being convicted of child sex abuse. A Pennsylvania judge sentenced him to at least 30 years behind bars for the crimes.
Some questions regarding the judge's decision were raised, citing the fact that Sandusky could have received up to 400 years for the crimes. Napolitano said he can't be sure as to the judge's reasoning, but thinks it may have had to do with weighing the crime against the full spectrum.
"I don't know why the judge
came up with this number, but Pennsylvania has an antiquated system of sentencing," he began. In many states, like where he himself sat in New Jersey, he would have sentenced Sandusky to life without parole - end of story ... which, in essence, is what the judge in this case did, Napolitano said.
"Thirty to 60 years means he isn't eligible to even ask for parole until he's served the full 30 years ... so he'd have to wait until he was 98 years old to ask, if he were to even live that long," he said. The other "thinking of the judge" could have been, according to Napolitano, that the '400 years' sentencing might be saved for crimes involving something like mass murder, because it quite simply "sounds" and seems more severe.
Napolitano also responded to a recorded statement that Sandusky released prior to his sentencing, in which the former coach claimed his innocence. "How would that impact you [as a judge]," Jenna Lee asked.
"It wouldn't impact me at all," he replied, "and I don't think it impacted this judge ... he's re-arguing the case ... that's history; the jury has spoken."
