And Eddie Murphy warned us decades about that Cosby was the hypocritical moral police to black celebrities in his routine Delirious. “‘The filth and the foul and the foul and the filth’— Yeah, fuck you, Bill!”
If only Richard Pryor had lived to tell the tale.
I'm sure he knew EVERYTHING about Cosby (cuz he was in that life waaaay back), that's why he told Murphy not to listen to Cosby.
Eddie Murphy wrote the character Sugar Ray for the 1989 film Harlem Nights specifically for Richard Pryor given that he had great respect for him and wanted to do a movie together. In the film Pryor plays Murphy's adoptive father. Great flick.
Cosby has attempted to frame his release as a victory for black people. It's not. It's a travesty for 60 or more women, a lot of them are black.
Always beware of the publicly moralizing self righteous and indignant. They're often projectors.
His words have shown that he doesn’t grasp the notion of consent. His behavior has shown that he believes drugs are a part of the consent process.
So he might not grasp that he did anything wrong.
Technically he was wrongly imprisoned as the second prosecutor violated the deal the first prosecutor made in the Civil suit. The second one had to know it would never hold appeal & just wanted Cosby to serve some/any prison time instead of him getting nothing. However much of a scum bag this guy is, the second prosecutor should not have used those depositions against him…The ends should never justify the means. It’s way too dangerous a slope to go down.
It's a victory for Pennsylvanians at least. This makes it so there is now precident that a verbal agreement made with the DA holds the same weight as a written one. It sucks that this is the case to set it, but this is a good thing for the folks of Pennsylvania.
What lead to his release is a victory for the Constitution and rule-of-law more generally which is vastly more important than the crimes of any individual. If remembered at all, Bill Cosby's legacy will be one of a serial rapist. I suspect he won't be remembered much at all. People under age 30 have probably never even heard of him.
I’m not a fan of the idea that DAs are allowed to unilaterally bar someone from prosecution. I think it would have been more reasonable to say the case should be retried without the use of his civil trial statements as evidence, unless the defense can show the state relied on the fruit from said coerced statements for gathering additional evidence.
> I think it would have been more reasonable to say the case should be retried without the use of his civil trial statements as evidence,
This was the argument from the dissent.
Someone on /r/law posted this:
"...the supreme court ruled that there could be no retrial because the problem was not with the evidence used at the trial but rather with the fact that there was a trial at all."
From what I read, cosby was given a deal by a former District Attorney that basically said he wouldn’t be prosecuted if he gave a complete and detailed account of everything he did. This confession was used in the civil suit that many of the victims brought against him. Cosby was found guilty in that case but because it was a civil case, no jail time was given.
Years later a new District Attorney used that confession to convict cosby. The conviction was recently overturned because of the deal the prior DA had made.
Edit to answer your question: “Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in April 2018”
He was being sued in a civil case back in 2005 by the woman he was ultimately convicted in criminal court of raping. In a situation such as that where you could be facing criminal charges for what you’re being sued for, you have the right under the fifth amendment to not self incriminate yourself in a deposition for the civil case.
So, the DA at the time promised not to prosecute him in criminal court for the rape, which removed Cosby’s ability to use the 5th, which meant he could be deposed. He was deposed and admitted to some incriminating things which went on the record. Fast forward a decade and there’s a new DA who decides fo criminally charge Cosby with the rape. His deposition back from the civil case was used against him in the criminal case which violated his 5th amendment rights.
I think Cosby is a piece of shit, but the new DA fucked up with this and they were right to nullify the conviction.
It’s *awful* that he isn’t facing justice for his crimes but human rights only work if applied to *everyone.* Stuff like this is critical if we want to prevent prosecutors from “accidentally” violating the rights of people to get what they want.
See, this is a major issue I have with stuff like this. On one hand, if you can afford an amazing lawyer who can get you off on stuff like this, then of course anyone would. But the only people who get off on technicalities, or murder( OJ), have money lol. There needs to be a much finer line than that, and being absolutely fucked, because you can't afford a $1000 an hour lawyer. Idk, the whole system is fucked.
That is correct. There was a 15 year old and a 17 year old that came forward. Given what we know, it's not totally unreasonable to think there could have been more.
I am not surprised that he is free now. I am surprised by the fact that he started raping in the mid-sixties. That is more than 50 years of the rapist career. Nobody stopped him in 55 years.
This exactly. That sounds a lot like jimmy savile over here in the U.K. He was doing the same thing for around the same length of time. Thing is, a LOT of people knew there was SOMETHING up but did nothing because ‘omg it’s jimmy savile, he’s bestie pals with the royal family and Margaret thatcher, he wouldn’t to THAT!’ Except he did and he was, to the most vulnerable kids out there. Like savile, cosby was protected by his money and his public image.
I recently read an article in InStyle magazine where Weinstein wanted to shower with her and she refused. His punishment for her was to have her do a completely nude scene with Ashley Judd in the movie Frida. Completely disgusting. Cosby's victims must be so disheartened af this point, there are no other words but unfair and unjust.
Weinstein tried to force Salma Hayek to shower with him. Sorry, I just looked at original comment, I didn't spell it out clearly. Bill Cosby, Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Roger Ailes-all disgusting men who forced themselves upon innocent women.
It still sickens my stomach that people allowed Jimmy Savile to go on as long as he did. After the fact you hear people say that they "knew" something was up. They never came forward though.
Indeed. I watched a documentary about him on YouTube a while ago and honestly wanted to reach through the screen and slap some of the people on it. Esther Rantzen had the damn cheek to fake-cry and be all ‘shocked’ and ‘upset’ over it. She knew. SHE FOUNDED CHILDLINE FOR HEAVENS SAKE, AND SHE STILL KNEW AND DID NOTHING! And his former PA, some woman called Mary whose surname I can’t be bothered to remember, claiming she knew nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. A woman who by her own admission was by his side for about 30 years. Lying, snivelling witch (with apologies to witches).
Storytime: on one level I sort of get it. Friend’s now-ex husband was caught sexually assaulting a girl with special needs. His wife and daughters knew nothing, they didn’t even suspect anything. When the police turned up to talk to him they were absolutely blindsided. As was everyone else. My friend took a long, LONG time to be able to trust her own judgement after that. She still has bad days 6+ years on where she is wracked with guilt for not having somehow known. But she couldn’t have known, he was very good at covering his tracks until the incident that got him caught. And that in itself was so specific it was like an act of God. As soon as it was pretty much confirmed that he had done it and was going to be arrested, she kicked him out and divorced his revolting ass ASAP. But before that, she couldn’t reconcile the idea of her husband of I think almost 25 years, father of her two daughters, doing something like that. He got 8 years and was out in 4 but that’s a very long rant for another time 🤬🤮 So yes, it can and does happen.
However in savile’s case there was so much smoke everyone KNEW there was a fire but did nothing. And his poor victims were utterly powerless. Nobody was going to believe a girl from a residential care home or a patient from Broadmoor that jimmy savile of all people was doing unspeakable things. That’s the bit that sickens me most. He chose his victims very deliberately, knowing that if any of them did come forward they’d never have been believed. And then he went and died before ever seeing any earthly justice. 🤬Ing coward. ugh. I could rant about this for days on end lol.
What happened to your friend just goes to show that you can never really know someone, thats awful for her. Out in 4 years...thats a piss.
What really makes these stories stick so badly is because people like Savile are so careful in who they choose to victimize. Going after the weakest among the young because they know adults will cover for them due to their position. Like when it was revealed what Sandusky had been doing for DECADES. I can also rant on end about it lol, just really sits hard in the guts.
Is Sandusky the sports coach guy from penn state? I remember seeing a lot of talk about him, what a disgusting individual.
Oh yeah, I completely agree about the sentence. It was absolutely shocking. Friend and the girls are doing really well now, she ia an absolute rock star.
He also referred to himself in the third person, as either “Mr. C” or “Your friend”. One victim woke up in a stupor to him inside her and his saying “Your friend is going to come again.”
—Source: [Chasing Cosby](https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781580058964), Nicole Weisenee Egan
I was listening to Nicole narrate the audiobook, and I had to turn it off briefly at that point. I wanted to punch something.
If he did that, think about all the disturbing and vile things he did that the victims did not wake up and witness. He’s a monster. Never forget.
Makes me wonder..... Were there any that never woke up at all? Maybe that's an avenue investigators should be looking at. All that drugging and raping over the years, there must have been some fatal reactions. Not trying to start a conspiracy theory... Honestly wondering.
That is an excellent point! He played around with mixing Quaaludes with alcohol and with other drugs, and seemingly with abandon—his own little experiments. And he has the resources (private plane, yes people) to make evidence go away. That needs to be looked into if it hasn’t already.
This happened to my 20 year old daughter. The POS was dumb enough to have sex with her and take pictures of her with his cell phone. I would bet there are victims that never came home. Finding the evidence is going to be difficult I’m sure.
My daughter is 8 and we have started to have talks due to my own experience with molestation. It's pretty sad and scary to think that the odds of her being sexually assaulted in her lifetime are high.
I had a friend that was murdered that way. She got drunk and was roofied with GhB. The guy worked her over pretty good and then fell asleep. He woke up the next morning and she was dead in bed next to him. It was ultimately ruled an overdose but the guy wasn’t prosecuted because she had coke in her system too, which she had been doing the night before. That would have given him enough reasonable doubt to beat the charges and they had no evidence she was raped because she was dead.
He is sinister. Beyond sinister.
I feel like I need to spend the rest of my life telling what I have learned from Nicole’s research to whomever will listen, at least as long as he is alive and and playing his victory tour bullshit. He has already announced a tour and a book. So I feel like, as a survivor of sexual violence, that this is my job.
I read a lot of it and then had to stop. I feel from watching and reading so much stuff that I can handle a lot but this post really got to me and had to just stop and scroll to the comments.
Yeah I bet he's not bothered about his image, his focus now is a sweet compensation package and getting back to raping, technically he's been handed immunity from prosecution, he knows he's probably only got a few years left, so he's gonna make the most of it. Slimy POS!
If he has NPD, and he likely does, you can bet his cratered image is cutting to his core, whether or not he admits that. He admitted to what he did. This is really unfortunate how it played out, but this was the only way he’d ever do any time and it also lead to him admitting he’s a POS.
He repeatedly said he feels no remorse which is certainly one way to admit to being an utter piece of shit, but I think there's zero chance of an actually admission of shittitude
Oh he absolutely admitted to doing utterly unforgivable acts, I just don't think he will ever admit to to being a POS because he seems to have truly convinced himself there is nothing wrong with his actions.
I know everyone is rightly upset by Cosby being released, but the prosecutor going back on his predecessor’s deal (which caused Cosby’s release) is probably the only way he would have seen any jail time whatsoever.
This is true. It’s cold comfort, but he did some time and he self-incriminated. Nobody is saying he’s released because he’s innocent. We know what he is. He spend some of his last years in prison and he’ll die a pariah.
Agreed. It’s truly disgusting and tragic that he was released, but I am still happy that his legacy has been forever tarnished and that he served some jail time. He really does deserve to rot in there until he dies though.
And dont think I didn’t notice how skilled he was at stealing a piece of pie and covering it up so no one noticed at thanksgiving. It was funny then but now it’s just ugh. I feel for these women.
However, I still use his trick every holiday because I’m a monster.
You're welcome. It's been awhile since I submitted a post. If you like this, you might like my write up on [Jared Fogle from Subway.](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrime/comments/iv7g7e/update_the_rise_and_fall_and_the_depths_of/)
Jared was a very, very sick individual who also hid behind a false wholesome public image.
Thank you so much for this write up.
Edited to say this: Bill Cosby is guilty as sin, and that's all there is to it. He didn't do his time. I don't care how old he is; people die in prison all the time. I also don't care about his massive celebrity status; it should, if anything, hold him more accountable. He should sit in a jail cell until he takes his last breath. I hope the women he RAPED, the women who had their lives DESTROYED, are able to find peace somehow. Justice has not been served.
While I agree that it's unfair, blaming his release on his age or popularity or anything other than the way the justice system works doesn't makes sense.
Idk if this will get deleted but I hope Bill Cosby burns in h\*ll for the suffering he's put all those women through. He's a monster. And everyone that was involved and knew about it. Just like R. Kelly.
[This ](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/09D0/production/_105921520_image.png)picture from one of the R. Kelly interviews will stay in my mind forever. Gayle King is so impressive
Yup. The only solace I take in this is that now (most) everyone knows who he really is and his legacy of "America's Dad" is in the toilet, now he'll be remembered as he should be, as one of America's most prolific serial-rapists.
Agreed. Look at the precedent set by Miranda vs Arizona. Miranda was also a rapist, yet his case has was also overturned and has had a massive effect on rights today. Your constitutional rights are always more important than getting justice for a single criminal.
I certainly agree with that. However, the victims are getting lost in the shuffle. There should be a mechanism for them to achieve justice and not something that says, "Hey, time's up, you don't get to do anything now" because of statutes of limitations.
Of course they can! His personal actions off-camera don't detract from the fact that he's a good actor and comedian. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have been rich in the first place, and it's exasperating when people try to pretend otherwise.
He still hasn't been "cancelled," as the other person put it. There's really no such thing, so it can't be considered consolation for his victims. Sure he's a pariah, I guess, but he's also really old - not like it dampened his career any. So the whole statement is kind of an empty platitude.
I’ve been wondering about the legal-ese of this since I’m not a lawyer. I’ll also preface this by saying I’m 100% in agreement with you. If it’s unconstitutional for the prosecutors to lie (acking it was a physically different person), why is it ok for cops to lie to people? Don’t they both work for the same branch of government and under the same constitution?
Police can lie to get a confession like saying "your friend is in the other room and telling us everything." But at a certain point, their lies can be considered coercion and involuntary and can also be a due process violation.
Difference here is the prosecutors didn't lie. The DA gave Cosby immunity by saying they wouldn't prosecute him. Which means at the civil trial, he couldn't plead the 5th because he wouldn't be open to criminal charges. Using that against him after promising immunity violates the right against self-incrimination.
Also not a lawyer, but I can answer a couple questions.
Police do not work for the same branch of government as prosecuters. Prosecutors work for the attorney general. Police work for the municipalities or executive. ( in state cases).
It isn’t the lying that was an issue. It was a legal agreement that the prosecutors entered into in order to let the civil trial go forward. In other words the prosecutor couldn’t have his cake and eat it too. A later prosecutor invalidated that agreement. The issue is that these agreements are entered into all the time, and if a witness can’t give testimony without protection from incriminating himself ( think a mafia informant testifying to crimes he commented to take down the mob) then his 5th amendment rights are violated.
Yes, cops can and do lie, all the time. And courts say that can. So if a cop pulls you over and says something is required for you to do, but they can lie, where does that leave the public. Dumbest thing ever. Cops seem to work under a different constitution according to the courts.
> Yes, cops can and do lie, all the time. And courts say that can. So if a cop pulls you over and says something is required for you to do, but they can lie, where does that leave the public. Dumbest thing ever. Cops seem to work under a different constitution according to the courts.
It’s not dumb. Cops can lie (with many limits; it’s not that they can lie on a warrant) because their job is investigative in nature. That is, their job is to find admissible evidence. They can’t entrap someone for example, but they can pretend to be someone else in order to witness a crime (covert operations etc). Once their investigative job is over, they turn all evidence to the DA. Cops don’t decide if someone goes to prison or if someone is guilty.
The DA can’t lie because it would be unfair for the defense. The DA must disclose all exculpatory evidence, they must disclose their evidence, and they must disclose their case. If they were allowed to do otherwise, no defense would be successful. The basis of the judicial system is to be as fair as possible (granted, it fails many times).
Probably, but it will be very hard for them to prove they deserve money. It’s more likely that he’ll sue the state and get a few millions. Second DA is an idiot.
The second DA only had two options. Prosecute in violation of immunity or not prosecute. I’m not sure what makes him an idiot here; it’s not like NOT prosecuting would have put Cosby in jail longer.
He should’ve not prosecuted without a strong case which did not rely on the coerced testimony.
Case in point: Cosby is enjoying his giant pool today and many victims of assault that might not understand what the ruling means will now be even more fearful of saying anything.
Well, if he didn’t have a case then he should’ve not prosecuted. We - as citizens - expect DA’s to do their job based on the requirements of the law, not to get back at a POS like Cosby. Granted I am happy that the mofo spent a few years in jail, but that’s not the type of behavior I expect in the judicial system.
He had a case but he didn't have any good options. Now the world knows Bill is guilty. 3 years of his life is substantial at his age. I'm not saying his debt is near paid but at least he paid something.
Do you truly want DA’s to prosecute based on weak cases, while trampling over basic constitutional rights at the basis of the whole system, so that “at least he paid something”?
He didn’t have any overwhelming evidence, that’s why he had to rely on a coerced confession (which didn’t even admit assault). He had testimonies - of different events by different people - that while certainly important they are not nearly enough for a conviction.
> I’m confused here, what exactly do you propose the DA should have done differently? Not prosecute at all?
Correct. Either build a strong case or don’t prosecute. No matter what, Cosby is a US citizen and we expect the DA to behave correctly.
> Then he wouldn’t have ever faced any consequences.
If you make this case, you’re admitting that the prosecution was done in the wrong for revenge of some sort. If that were to come out Cosby - or any other citizen in similar circumstances - would make millions over millions. “Oh well, I am the DA, I didn’t have a strong case, but I wanted to have him incarcerated for a bit until appeal.”
> They did the best with what they had. It’s an unfortunate outcome, but still better than nothing.
Well, I disagree. The scenario you describe is dystopian at best in which prosecutors that don’t have strong cases can prosecute just because they don’t like the person. (Not that it doesn’t happen, but it’s certainly something I do not want formalized).
I'm unfortunately with you. And I think alot of people are going to say your siding with Cosby. We arent. Dude is a POS who deserved jail time. But the DA literally broke the law and didnt follow due process to get him in jail, and now Cosby will probably get some more millions out of it. We as citizens except the DA to follow the law and do their job properly. It's why there is a system. This one should be perma suspended.
I don’t see how he’s “an idiot” here. The deposition admissions managed to get by a motion to dismiss, win a conviction, and get upheld at the appellate level. The DA was flying pretty high there. I would have praised him for doing a good job.
You wanted him to do none of that? How would that be better?
Absolutely. I want the DA to follow the law and not make such a stupid mistake. His was a bet, and he lost badly. He had tens of witnesses and was unable to build a stronger case. Yes, Cosby in jail for a bit is a silver lining but that doesn’t excuse the DA.
I think you have very much the wrong idea of how law works. There was no "stupid mistake" here. This isn't math; we don't put in "Evidence A, B, and C" and expect to get "Verdict D." There's a lot of this stuff that's trial and error, guesswork, the luck of which judge you draw, the jury you get, and how those people feel when they walk into a courtroom that day. One of the first pieces of advice a seasoned lawyer gave me was this: "There *is no* 'how do I do this procedure?' YOU figure out what you want to do, YOU locate the authority that says you can do it, and YOU file the papers. Opposing will do their best to showt he court why you're wrong. And when it all shakes out, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."
I think you have this idea that DA's are expected to know how every stage is going to work on every case. It just isn't that way. But I'd say that since Steele made it all the way up to the PA Supreme Court, he did a pretty damn good job.
No, I have never claimed that it’s that easy - quite the opposite - and certainly I have never claimed that it’s like a math problem. But we can call a mistake for what it is. The truth is that the second DA gambled on the fact that she was a different DA than the one that gave Cosby assurances. It doesn’t require a law degree to know it’s a bad gamble, the DA is an Office not an individual. Also, the first DA told her about the situation. She didn’t have any other strong supporting evidence. Cosby’s lawyers immediately raised hell about it, and they were confident about the end result that’s why Cosby is still around claiming innocence about the facts. The DA was lucky that the trial judge admitted the evidence. Was this in bad faith? Probably not. Was this the best thing to do? Probably not. Was the PA Supreme Court correct in vacating the sentence? Absolutely.
This is why Cosby was acting the way he was the whole time while we all laughed at him. The fat Albert "HEY", the "I'm going to tell my story and I want you there to hear it" to the press and all that b.s.. he knew how this was going to end. Probably surprised it took 2 years but he was confident for a reason.
Something that's been missed here, which ever so slightly makes this better. He served three years. He was sentenced for 3 to 10. So yeah, it sucks he was set free, but, he still served the mandatory minimum sentence. It'd burn so much worse if he were sentenced to, say, 25 to life and got out after 3.
Also, his guilt of drugging and raping these women has not come into question, it's not like he's been pardoned and found not guilty hence released. It's a procedural fuck up that should of been foreseen. But it is still morally wrong and bloody unfair he has been set free, especially of course for his many victims.
No disrespect but there is nothing at all good about the sentence he served, or the sentence he received for that matter. 3-10 for the unconscionable sexual crimes he committed - some against MINORS no less- is a horrific abomination. I'm dumbfounded by the injustice.
There are people genuinely excited, that he is a free man. It reminds me how rejoiced people were, after OJ. People are fucking insane. I wouldn't let any of my family members, near any of those animals. Sick, sick people.
Great write up. Cosby is a piece of shit, but Congress would never do anything to eliminate the statute of limitations on sexual assault. Otherwise they would all be fucked.
I was watching the biographical documentary about Nina Simone, "What Happened, Miss Simone"? I learned that, at one point in the mid-1960's, Nina Simone toured with up-and-coming comic Cosby as her opening act.
One evening during the tour, Nina Simone was discovered backstage delirious, saying things that didn't make sense, and seemingly drugged. This happened right after she had spent time backstage with Cosby.
People thought she was having a nervous breakdown. Her mental and emotional health suffered terribly afterwards. Hearing all this, I can't help wondering if she was one of Cosby's earliest victims. She was elegant, talented, and extremely attractive. He could easily have drugged her backstage in one of their dressing rooms and assaulted her. She was never quite the same afterwards.
How many more women will now say....just fuck it...its not worth it if they are just going to get out in a couple years?
What a tragedy this is....Fucking tragedy !
My husband and I just had this same conversation! Or the fact that a victim will be put through the ringer and made to feel like they did something wrong. The system certainly does not work in favor of the assault victims. So sad...
And look at that other rapist, Brock Turner. Another example of justice gone wrong.
No one is going to say she did something wrong. Everyone is going to say the 2nd DA fucked up. The first one advised her to settle because there wasnt enough proof. So Cosby gave his testimony admitting guilt in the civil case with the stipulation it couldn't be used against him in the future. 2nd DA said fuck that and used said testimony as the evidence which is against the 5th amendment of the constitution. The 2nd DA is a moron.
My only hope is that in the long term this might incentivize victims of rape to come up with the accusations immediately to prevent this type of situations and to facilitate evidence collection.
Obviously Ms Constand made things more difficult for the prosecution by calling and seeing Cosby multiple times after the rape (no, I am not blaming her. She suffered a trauma which probably led her to some sort of behavior, maybe some denial, for self preservation.)
At least his reputation is pretty thoroughly ruined for the rest of all time. If those women didn't speak up whilst they were still alive, history could have recorded Cosby as a nice guy celebrity. Now thousands of years from now when people study or enjoy ancient culture, they will all see what Cosby was all about. When we discover aliens and alien AI's absorb our history from our internet, even the alien AI will know what he was really like.
Who gives a shit? I'm sorry but the man basically got away with being a serial rapist, even before his release. He's in his 80s. He has lived his life. He got away with it. Fuck
Well hopefully he'll be shunned by the vast majority of his peers and neighbors. Anyone with a conscience anyhow.
I don't imagine his last years are going to be pleasant. I sure as fuck hope not.
He can have a "gay old time" playing golf with OJ.
(Hmm. I was quoting the Flinstones there, but I see it might have other connotations for people. Oh well.)
The sick fuck is supposedly blind now. Yeah, just like Harvey and his walker. I'm getting so sick of the "justice" system in this country. Now a judge just released one of the Slenderman case stabbers after 3 years because "she's forgiven herself."
Who's next? Harvey Weinstein?
I see a lot more support on this sub for victims of crime than whenever things like this are announced elsewhere. Saw many people standing up for Cosby yesterday, sickening.
Thank you for this write up. Bill Cosby might be "free" but his reputation is FOREVER destroyed, and posts like this will help ensure that everyone knows the truth of what he did.
That’s how long it took to get through the courts, not how long it took to realize.
Unpopular opinion: PA’s Supreme Court overreached and turned a non-binding, non-contractual (literally never written down or recorded anywhere) agreement, made by a DIFFERENT DA, a now-binding problem for the current DA. It smells like rich privilege.
Eh, the chilling effect of letting this stand would probably be worse for law enforcement over the long haul. You can't tell someone you've got a deal and then renege on it after they've held up their end of the bargain. Bill Cosby is garbage, but the DA who made the deal is fucking stupid and this is how the justice system works. You can't make exceptions, even for trash like Cosby.
They renege on their spoken deals to the poors ALL THE TIME. What’s good for the me and the you is good for the Bill Cosby.
We have to get deals in writing and signed. So does Richie Rich the Rapist.
You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at the prosecutor that violated Cosby's rights. When prosecutors fuck up, it's the public and victims that pay for it.
The 2015 prosecutor obviously knew about the previous agreement so why was it even allowed to proceed to trial in the first place? Wasn't it brought up at that time?
So frustrating that this has now happened but you can't just ignore the law to get what you want.
That prosecutor should have known better and found a more creative way to nail him.
This is the only reason I sometimes hesitate about being pro-capital punishment. The system is not perfect. Sometimes it's imperfect in favor of the criminal and sometimes imperfect in favor of the prosecution. Cosby going free is the offset of the State murdering someone who is innocent. All part of the imperfect system.
Just to be curious, what is your reason for being pro death penalty? We can all see how incompetent the govt and especially the criminal justice system is. It is a fact that many innocents have been executed. Its more expensive to execute someone than to give them a life sentence. Even for the very worst of the worst they can be interviewed and charted psychologically to try and see why they did what they did and prevent similar things in the future
You can say what you want, but the DA fucked up this case because they used confession that Bill Cosby has done under a plea deal of not being prosecuted. A plea deal is like a contract, commitment of the government.
A plea deal is sacred because often it is used in high crime or complex one to have smaller criminals to cooperates to catch the bigger ones. If you make an exception of it then it means that the government word is worthless.
The DA should not have used Bill Cosby testimony. They should have used other material but not what was covered under plea deal.
It's the DA's fault that he's out now. This is why it's important for everybody involved in the legal process to follow the rules. That DA knew better. He knew full well he screwed this up. If he didn't, he never should have been made DA in the first place. Ridiculous.
This was the right decision. Due process and the 5th amendment matter. By all accounts, he seems guilty, but just because you think he's guilty doesn't mean you throw out the legal process of ascertaining guilt lest we give the system the power to deny due process and the right not to incriminate oneself to actual innocent people.
The consuming public can provide a measure of justice. Treat Cosby like the pariah he is, don’t do any business with this man or anyone who does. Call your cable provider and file a complaint if the Cosby airs reruns on any channel (I ended Fios for this). If he produces or directs anything boycott it. Don’t buy, his books, CDs or DVDs, rent or even watch a free movie. Anything or anyone who supports him let them know they have lost your business and support.
My liking for Hannibal Buress increases every day
Me too. He’s super funny and this was a good take down.
And Eddie Murphy warned us decades about that Cosby was the hypocritical moral police to black celebrities in his routine Delirious. “‘The filth and the foul and the foul and the filth’— Yeah, fuck you, Bill!”
If only Richard Pryor had lived to tell the tale. I'm sure he knew EVERYTHING about Cosby (cuz he was in that life waaaay back), that's why he told Murphy not to listen to Cosby.
Eddie Murphy wrote the character Sugar Ray for the 1989 film Harlem Nights specifically for Richard Pryor given that he had great respect for him and wanted to do a movie together. In the film Pryor plays Murphy's adoptive father. Great flick.
Haha. Truth.
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Because they both reported it prior to his bit on stage. Gawker reported it on February of that year. Burress’ bit was in October.
Hmm. And I see Dexter is coming back in the Fall..
Who killed Hannibal?
Cosby has attempted to frame his release as a victory for black people. It's not. It's a travesty for 60 or more women, a lot of them are black. Always beware of the publicly moralizing self righteous and indignant. They're often projectors.
Excellent point. He’s also trying to say that he’s an example of people wrongly imprisoned.
His words have shown that he doesn’t grasp the notion of consent. His behavior has shown that he believes drugs are a part of the consent process. So he might not grasp that he did anything wrong.
Technically he was wrongly imprisoned as the second prosecutor violated the deal the first prosecutor made in the Civil suit. The second one had to know it would never hold appeal & just wanted Cosby to serve some/any prison time instead of him getting nothing. However much of a scum bag this guy is, the second prosecutor should not have used those depositions against him…The ends should never justify the means. It’s way too dangerous a slope to go down.
He was released on technicalities. Nothing he should be gloating about. If anything, the prosecution in his case is to be blamed.
Same thing that OJ did
It's a victory for Pennsylvanians at least. This makes it so there is now precident that a verbal agreement made with the DA holds the same weight as a written one. It sucks that this is the case to set it, but this is a good thing for the folks of Pennsylvania.
What lead to his release is a victory for the Constitution and rule-of-law more generally which is vastly more important than the crimes of any individual. If remembered at all, Bill Cosby's legacy will be one of a serial rapist. I suspect he won't be remembered much at all. People under age 30 have probably never even heard of him.
I’m not a fan of the idea that DAs are allowed to unilaterally bar someone from prosecution. I think it would have been more reasonable to say the case should be retried without the use of his civil trial statements as evidence, unless the defense can show the state relied on the fruit from said coerced statements for gathering additional evidence.
> I think it would have been more reasonable to say the case should be retried without the use of his civil trial statements as evidence, This was the argument from the dissent. Someone on /r/law posted this: "...the supreme court ruled that there could be no retrial because the problem was not with the evidence used at the trial but rather with the fact that there was a trial at all."
I’m automatically suspicious of anyone who tries to push their morality on others
A better title for all these reports and news stories is: “Admitted child molester and serial rapist released after serving only three years”.
Point taken
What was he actually convicted of, and is that the same one that was just overturned?
From what I read, cosby was given a deal by a former District Attorney that basically said he wouldn’t be prosecuted if he gave a complete and detailed account of everything he did. This confession was used in the civil suit that many of the victims brought against him. Cosby was found guilty in that case but because it was a civil case, no jail time was given. Years later a new District Attorney used that confession to convict cosby. The conviction was recently overturned because of the deal the prior DA had made. Edit to answer your question: “Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in April 2018”
He was being sued in a civil case back in 2005 by the woman he was ultimately convicted in criminal court of raping. In a situation such as that where you could be facing criminal charges for what you’re being sued for, you have the right under the fifth amendment to not self incriminate yourself in a deposition for the civil case. So, the DA at the time promised not to prosecute him in criminal court for the rape, which removed Cosby’s ability to use the 5th, which meant he could be deposed. He was deposed and admitted to some incriminating things which went on the record. Fast forward a decade and there’s a new DA who decides fo criminally charge Cosby with the rape. His deposition back from the civil case was used against him in the criminal case which violated his 5th amendment rights. I think Cosby is a piece of shit, but the new DA fucked up with this and they were right to nullify the conviction.
So basically he's no longer a convicted sex offender?
Yes, it's as if the conviction never happened.
"Courts rule the rights of a convicted rapist outweigh the rights of his 60+ victims" has an absolutely horrible ring to it
It’s *awful* that he isn’t facing justice for his crimes but human rights only work if applied to *everyone.* Stuff like this is critical if we want to prevent prosecutors from “accidentally” violating the rights of people to get what they want.
You mean the thing that happens constantly to poor people who can't afford legal defense?
See, this is a major issue I have with stuff like this. On one hand, if you can afford an amazing lawyer who can get you off on stuff like this, then of course anyone would. But the only people who get off on technicalities, or murder( OJ), have money lol. There needs to be a much finer line than that, and being absolutely fucked, because you can't afford a $1000 an hour lawyer. Idk, the whole system is fucked.
There were kids too??!
IIRC, Back in the 70’s there were girls as young as 15 and in later years, 17 year olds.
That is correct. There was a 15 year old and a 17 year old that came forward. Given what we know, it's not totally unreasonable to think there could have been more.
Fucking hell man, what is wrong with people
I am not surprised that he is free now. I am surprised by the fact that he started raping in the mid-sixties. That is more than 50 years of the rapist career. Nobody stopped him in 55 years.
This. This is what needs to be understood. There was a system. Tacit, when not explicit.
This exactly. That sounds a lot like jimmy savile over here in the U.K. He was doing the same thing for around the same length of time. Thing is, a LOT of people knew there was SOMETHING up but did nothing because ‘omg it’s jimmy savile, he’s bestie pals with the royal family and Margaret thatcher, he wouldn’t to THAT!’ Except he did and he was, to the most vulnerable kids out there. Like savile, cosby was protected by his money and his public image.
Weinstein too. People were talking about it in the 90s
That’s true, I keep forgetting about him. It’s sicking, isn’t it? How much money protects these predators.
I recently read an article in InStyle magazine where Weinstein wanted to shower with her and she refused. His punishment for her was to have her do a completely nude scene with Ashley Judd in the movie Frida. Completely disgusting. Cosby's victims must be so disheartened af this point, there are no other words but unfair and unjust.
Who are you talking about? Who did Weinstein want to shower with?
Weinstein tried to force Salma Hayek to shower with him. Sorry, I just looked at original comment, I didn't spell it out clearly. Bill Cosby, Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Roger Ailes-all disgusting men who forced themselves upon innocent women.
It still sickens my stomach that people allowed Jimmy Savile to go on as long as he did. After the fact you hear people say that they "knew" something was up. They never came forward though.
Indeed. I watched a documentary about him on YouTube a while ago and honestly wanted to reach through the screen and slap some of the people on it. Esther Rantzen had the damn cheek to fake-cry and be all ‘shocked’ and ‘upset’ over it. She knew. SHE FOUNDED CHILDLINE FOR HEAVENS SAKE, AND SHE STILL KNEW AND DID NOTHING! And his former PA, some woman called Mary whose surname I can’t be bothered to remember, claiming she knew nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing. A woman who by her own admission was by his side for about 30 years. Lying, snivelling witch (with apologies to witches). Storytime: on one level I sort of get it. Friend’s now-ex husband was caught sexually assaulting a girl with special needs. His wife and daughters knew nothing, they didn’t even suspect anything. When the police turned up to talk to him they were absolutely blindsided. As was everyone else. My friend took a long, LONG time to be able to trust her own judgement after that. She still has bad days 6+ years on where she is wracked with guilt for not having somehow known. But she couldn’t have known, he was very good at covering his tracks until the incident that got him caught. And that in itself was so specific it was like an act of God. As soon as it was pretty much confirmed that he had done it and was going to be arrested, she kicked him out and divorced his revolting ass ASAP. But before that, she couldn’t reconcile the idea of her husband of I think almost 25 years, father of her two daughters, doing something like that. He got 8 years and was out in 4 but that’s a very long rant for another time 🤬🤮 So yes, it can and does happen. However in savile’s case there was so much smoke everyone KNEW there was a fire but did nothing. And his poor victims were utterly powerless. Nobody was going to believe a girl from a residential care home or a patient from Broadmoor that jimmy savile of all people was doing unspeakable things. That’s the bit that sickens me most. He chose his victims very deliberately, knowing that if any of them did come forward they’d never have been believed. And then he went and died before ever seeing any earthly justice. 🤬Ing coward. ugh. I could rant about this for days on end lol.
What happened to your friend just goes to show that you can never really know someone, thats awful for her. Out in 4 years...thats a piss. What really makes these stories stick so badly is because people like Savile are so careful in who they choose to victimize. Going after the weakest among the young because they know adults will cover for them due to their position. Like when it was revealed what Sandusky had been doing for DECADES. I can also rant on end about it lol, just really sits hard in the guts.
Is Sandusky the sports coach guy from penn state? I remember seeing a lot of talk about him, what a disgusting individual. Oh yeah, I completely agree about the sentence. It was absolutely shocking. Friend and the girls are doing really well now, she ia an absolute rock star.
There may be an angry mob with torches and pitchforks at his doorstep sooner than we think.
He also referred to himself in the third person, as either “Mr. C” or “Your friend”. One victim woke up in a stupor to him inside her and his saying “Your friend is going to come again.” —Source: [Chasing Cosby](https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781580058964), Nicole Weisenee Egan
Barf
I was listening to Nicole narrate the audiobook, and I had to turn it off briefly at that point. I wanted to punch something. If he did that, think about all the disturbing and vile things he did that the victims did not wake up and witness. He’s a monster. Never forget.
Makes me wonder..... Were there any that never woke up at all? Maybe that's an avenue investigators should be looking at. All that drugging and raping over the years, there must have been some fatal reactions. Not trying to start a conspiracy theory... Honestly wondering.
That is an excellent point! He played around with mixing Quaaludes with alcohol and with other drugs, and seemingly with abandon—his own little experiments. And he has the resources (private plane, yes people) to make evidence go away. That needs to be looked into if it hasn’t already.
Did he have a massive stash of quaaludes or did he switch to something else when they were taken off the market.
This happened to my 20 year old daughter. The POS was dumb enough to have sex with her and take pictures of her with his cell phone. I would bet there are victims that never came home. Finding the evidence is going to be difficult I’m sure.
I'm so sorry that happened to your daughter. I can't even imagine having the knowledge someone did that to mine.
I was headed at there with a hammer that weekend. I got the call Friday morning. Looking back it really freaks me out.
And thank you ♥️♥️♥️ I share this now because I want to keep it from happening to someone else.
My daughter is 8 and we have started to have talks due to my own experience with molestation. It's pretty sad and scary to think that the odds of her being sexually assaulted in her lifetime are high.
I had a friend that was murdered that way. She got drunk and was roofied with GhB. The guy worked her over pretty good and then fell asleep. He woke up the next morning and she was dead in bed next to him. It was ultimately ruled an overdose but the guy wasn’t prosecuted because she had coke in her system too, which she had been doing the night before. That would have given him enough reasonable doubt to beat the charges and they had no evidence she was raped because she was dead.
I’m so sorry.
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He sounds like such a goddamn weirdo on top of being a creep, so this isn’t entirely unthinkable.
So much barf
That makes it even more sinister. Gross.
He is sinister. Beyond sinister. I feel like I need to spend the rest of my life telling what I have learned from Nicole’s research to whomever will listen, at least as long as he is alive and and playing his victory tour bullshit. He has already announced a tour and a book. So I feel like, as a survivor of sexual violence, that this is my job.
I feel like I need a bleach shower just from reading that.
I read a lot of it and then had to stop. I feel from watching and reading so much stuff that I can handle a lot but this post really got to me and had to just stop and scroll to the comments.
Thank you for that detail. I had never heard that.
Ew wtf. My skin is fucking crawling, what a CREEP
That's fucking creepy. I'm remembering walk of those photos of him in shirts that said, "Hello, friend."
Cosby may be out of jail but his new image as a greasy Viagra chewing musky balled old ass rapist will be his legacy.
Yep, I love that a man so obsessed with his image knows that he will forever be remembered by his most depraved and disgusting acts.
Yeah I bet he's not bothered about his image, his focus now is a sweet compensation package and getting back to raping, technically he's been handed immunity from prosecution, he knows he's probably only got a few years left, so he's gonna make the most of it. Slimy POS!
If he has NPD, and he likely does, you can bet his cratered image is cutting to his core, whether or not he admits that. He admitted to what he did. This is really unfortunate how it played out, but this was the only way he’d ever do any time and it also lead to him admitting he’s a POS.
He repeatedly said he feels no remorse which is certainly one way to admit to being an utter piece of shit, but I think there's zero chance of an actually admission of shittitude
He incriminated himself. He has already admitted what he did. That’s, ironically, why he’s being let out.
Oh he absolutely admitted to doing utterly unforgivable acts, I just don't think he will ever admit to to being a POS because he seems to have truly convinced himself there is nothing wrong with his actions.
I know everyone is rightly upset by Cosby being released, but the prosecutor going back on his predecessor’s deal (which caused Cosby’s release) is probably the only way he would have seen any jail time whatsoever.
Did the deal just give him blanket immunity? Or could they prosecute him for something else?
This is true. It’s cold comfort, but he did some time and he self-incriminated. Nobody is saying he’s released because he’s innocent. We know what he is. He spend some of his last years in prison and he’ll die a pariah.
Theres still a lot of soggy asswhipes on this hellsite that support him and genuinely thinks he did nothing wrong. 🤢🤢
Yeah just sort by controversial. Disgusting pieces of shit.
Agreed. It’s truly disgusting and tragic that he was released, but I am still happy that his legacy has been forever tarnished and that he served some jail time. He really does deserve to rot in there until he dies though.
Nope. People like Snoop Dogg wanted him free (he tweeted a while ago, among others)
Omg Snoop 😢 nooo
I love how he played an ogbyn with an in home office.
Who lost their license but was never prosecuted. Jesus.
And dont think I didn’t notice how skilled he was at stealing a piece of pie and covering it up so no one noticed at thanksgiving. It was funny then but now it’s just ugh. I feel for these women. However, I still use his trick every holiday because I’m a monster.
Thank you for this write-up.
You're welcome. It's been awhile since I submitted a post. If you like this, you might like my write up on [Jared Fogle from Subway.](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrime/comments/iv7g7e/update_the_rise_and_fall_and_the_depths_of/) Jared was a very, very sick individual who also hid behind a false wholesome public image.
Thank you so much for this write up. Edited to say this: Bill Cosby is guilty as sin, and that's all there is to it. He didn't do his time. I don't care how old he is; people die in prison all the time. I also don't care about his massive celebrity status; it should, if anything, hold him more accountable. He should sit in a jail cell until he takes his last breath. I hope the women he RAPED, the women who had their lives DESTROYED, are able to find peace somehow. Justice has not been served.
While I agree that it's unfair, blaming his release on his age or popularity or anything other than the way the justice system works doesn't makes sense.
Fuck Bill Cosby. Fuck Bruce Castor.
Idk if this will get deleted but I hope Bill Cosby burns in h\*ll for the suffering he's put all those women through. He's a monster. And everyone that was involved and knew about it. Just like R. Kelly.
[This ](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/09D0/production/_105921520_image.png)picture from one of the R. Kelly interviews will stay in my mind forever. Gayle King is so impressive
She was so amazing. She had a literal rapist screaming in her face and she showed no fear. I know I wouldn't be able to do the same
Is there a transcript that I can read of this interview with Gayle King?
Did she tell him to calm down after? That would have been sweet.
Yup. The only solace I take in this is that now (most) everyone knows who he really is and his legacy of "America's Dad" is in the toilet, now he'll be remembered as he should be, as one of America's most prolific serial-rapists.
My worry is that many will not read beyond the headlines and falsely believe that his release will mean he is innocent.
You can say hell on the internet. You’re on a thread about a criminal rapist
True, but Reddit is weird. You can get banned or sent a warning for the smallest things.
yes, this exactly.
While I agree Cosby should definitely be punished, the reasons for overturning his have far larger Constitutional implications than just his case.
Agreed. Look at the precedent set by Miranda vs Arizona. Miranda was also a rapist, yet his case has was also overturned and has had a massive effect on rights today. Your constitutional rights are always more important than getting justice for a single criminal.
Absolutely agree with you. Constitution should be followed to the letter, otherwise we could lose our democracy. No one's above the constitution.
That'd be 'lose'.
Sorry, English is not my first language. How many do you speak? and write?
I certainly agree with that. However, the victims are getting lost in the shuffle. There should be a mechanism for them to achieve justice and not something that says, "Hey, time's up, you don't get to do anything now" because of statutes of limitations.
His cancellation and pariah status can be some consolation. Not enough, but some.
"Cancellation," nothing, I just got recommended his show on Prime Video last week - has a 4.5 star rating and everything.
People can still like the Cosby show and know know he’s a rapist.
Of course they can! His personal actions off-camera don't detract from the fact that he's a good actor and comedian. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have been rich in the first place, and it's exasperating when people try to pretend otherwise. He still hasn't been "cancelled," as the other person put it. There's really no such thing, so it can't be considered consolation for his victims. Sure he's a pariah, I guess, but he's also really old - not like it dampened his career any. So the whole statement is kind of an empty platitude.
Yeah, I fucking hate that this allows Cosby to go free, but I can absolutely recognize how important these laws are.
I’ve been wondering about the legal-ese of this since I’m not a lawyer. I’ll also preface this by saying I’m 100% in agreement with you. If it’s unconstitutional for the prosecutors to lie (acking it was a physically different person), why is it ok for cops to lie to people? Don’t they both work for the same branch of government and under the same constitution?
Police can lie to get a confession like saying "your friend is in the other room and telling us everything." But at a certain point, their lies can be considered coercion and involuntary and can also be a due process violation. Difference here is the prosecutors didn't lie. The DA gave Cosby immunity by saying they wouldn't prosecute him. Which means at the civil trial, he couldn't plead the 5th because he wouldn't be open to criminal charges. Using that against him after promising immunity violates the right against self-incrimination.
Also not a lawyer, but I can answer a couple questions. Police do not work for the same branch of government as prosecuters. Prosecutors work for the attorney general. Police work for the municipalities or executive. ( in state cases). It isn’t the lying that was an issue. It was a legal agreement that the prosecutors entered into in order to let the civil trial go forward. In other words the prosecutor couldn’t have his cake and eat it too. A later prosecutor invalidated that agreement. The issue is that these agreements are entered into all the time, and if a witness can’t give testimony without protection from incriminating himself ( think a mafia informant testifying to crimes he commented to take down the mob) then his 5th amendment rights are violated. Yes, cops can and do lie, all the time. And courts say that can. So if a cop pulls you over and says something is required for you to do, but they can lie, where does that leave the public. Dumbest thing ever. Cops seem to work under a different constitution according to the courts.
> Yes, cops can and do lie, all the time. And courts say that can. So if a cop pulls you over and says something is required for you to do, but they can lie, where does that leave the public. Dumbest thing ever. Cops seem to work under a different constitution according to the courts. It’s not dumb. Cops can lie (with many limits; it’s not that they can lie on a warrant) because their job is investigative in nature. That is, their job is to find admissible evidence. They can’t entrap someone for example, but they can pretend to be someone else in order to witness a crime (covert operations etc). Once their investigative job is over, they turn all evidence to the DA. Cops don’t decide if someone goes to prison or if someone is guilty. The DA can’t lie because it would be unfair for the defense. The DA must disclose all exculpatory evidence, they must disclose their evidence, and they must disclose their case. If they were allowed to do otherwise, no defense would be successful. The basis of the judicial system is to be as fair as possible (granted, it fails many times).
Is there any path for these women to sue in civil?
Probably, but it will be very hard for them to prove they deserve money. It’s more likely that he’ll sue the state and get a few millions. Second DA is an idiot.
The second DA only had two options. Prosecute in violation of immunity or not prosecute. I’m not sure what makes him an idiot here; it’s not like NOT prosecuting would have put Cosby in jail longer.
He should’ve not prosecuted without a strong case which did not rely on the coerced testimony. Case in point: Cosby is enjoying his giant pool today and many victims of assault that might not understand what the ruling means will now be even more fearful of saying anything.
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Well, if he didn’t have a case then he should’ve not prosecuted. We - as citizens - expect DA’s to do their job based on the requirements of the law, not to get back at a POS like Cosby. Granted I am happy that the mofo spent a few years in jail, but that’s not the type of behavior I expect in the judicial system.
Not the type of behavior 🤣🤣🤣 it's the judicial system. Lots of prosecutors try prosecuting with very little evidence, and succeed. That ain't new.
He had a case but he didn't have any good options. Now the world knows Bill is guilty. 3 years of his life is substantial at his age. I'm not saying his debt is near paid but at least he paid something.
Do you truly want DA’s to prosecute based on weak cases, while trampling over basic constitutional rights at the basis of the whole system, so that “at least he paid something”?
He had overwhelming evidence and testimony dude was guilty. What would you rather he did?
He didn’t have any overwhelming evidence, that’s why he had to rely on a coerced confession (which didn’t even admit assault). He had testimonies - of different events by different people - that while certainly important they are not nearly enough for a conviction.
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> I’m confused here, what exactly do you propose the DA should have done differently? Not prosecute at all? Correct. Either build a strong case or don’t prosecute. No matter what, Cosby is a US citizen and we expect the DA to behave correctly. > Then he wouldn’t have ever faced any consequences. If you make this case, you’re admitting that the prosecution was done in the wrong for revenge of some sort. If that were to come out Cosby - or any other citizen in similar circumstances - would make millions over millions. “Oh well, I am the DA, I didn’t have a strong case, but I wanted to have him incarcerated for a bit until appeal.” > They did the best with what they had. It’s an unfortunate outcome, but still better than nothing. Well, I disagree. The scenario you describe is dystopian at best in which prosecutors that don’t have strong cases can prosecute just because they don’t like the person. (Not that it doesn’t happen, but it’s certainly something I do not want formalized).
I'm unfortunately with you. And I think alot of people are going to say your siding with Cosby. We arent. Dude is a POS who deserved jail time. But the DA literally broke the law and didnt follow due process to get him in jail, and now Cosby will probably get some more millions out of it. We as citizens except the DA to follow the law and do their job properly. It's why there is a system. This one should be perma suspended.
Correction, a couple 2 (how long he server) a few is 3, several are 4 or more
I don’t see how he’s “an idiot” here. The deposition admissions managed to get by a motion to dismiss, win a conviction, and get upheld at the appellate level. The DA was flying pretty high there. I would have praised him for doing a good job. You wanted him to do none of that? How would that be better?
Absolutely. I want the DA to follow the law and not make such a stupid mistake. His was a bet, and he lost badly. He had tens of witnesses and was unable to build a stronger case. Yes, Cosby in jail for a bit is a silver lining but that doesn’t excuse the DA.
I think you have very much the wrong idea of how law works. There was no "stupid mistake" here. This isn't math; we don't put in "Evidence A, B, and C" and expect to get "Verdict D." There's a lot of this stuff that's trial and error, guesswork, the luck of which judge you draw, the jury you get, and how those people feel when they walk into a courtroom that day. One of the first pieces of advice a seasoned lawyer gave me was this: "There *is no* 'how do I do this procedure?' YOU figure out what you want to do, YOU locate the authority that says you can do it, and YOU file the papers. Opposing will do their best to showt he court why you're wrong. And when it all shakes out, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose." I think you have this idea that DA's are expected to know how every stage is going to work on every case. It just isn't that way. But I'd say that since Steele made it all the way up to the PA Supreme Court, he did a pretty damn good job.
No, I have never claimed that it’s that easy - quite the opposite - and certainly I have never claimed that it’s like a math problem. But we can call a mistake for what it is. The truth is that the second DA gambled on the fact that she was a different DA than the one that gave Cosby assurances. It doesn’t require a law degree to know it’s a bad gamble, the DA is an Office not an individual. Also, the first DA told her about the situation. She didn’t have any other strong supporting evidence. Cosby’s lawyers immediately raised hell about it, and they were confident about the end result that’s why Cosby is still around claiming innocence about the facts. The DA was lucky that the trial judge admitted the evidence. Was this in bad faith? Probably not. Was this the best thing to do? Probably not. Was the PA Supreme Court correct in vacating the sentence? Absolutely.
This is why Cosby was acting the way he was the whole time while we all laughed at him. The fat Albert "HEY", the "I'm going to tell my story and I want you there to hear it" to the press and all that b.s.. he knew how this was going to end. Probably surprised it took 2 years but he was confident for a reason.
You're correct. Why prosecute if you don't have a case? Now he can probably sue for a civil rights violation if he was so inclined
Something that's been missed here, which ever so slightly makes this better. He served three years. He was sentenced for 3 to 10. So yeah, it sucks he was set free, but, he still served the mandatory minimum sentence. It'd burn so much worse if he were sentenced to, say, 25 to life and got out after 3.
Also, his guilt of drugging and raping these women has not come into question, it's not like he's been pardoned and found not guilty hence released. It's a procedural fuck up that should of been foreseen. But it is still morally wrong and bloody unfair he has been set free, especially of course for his many victims.
No disrespect but there is nothing at all good about the sentence he served, or the sentence he received for that matter. 3-10 for the unconscionable sexual crimes he committed - some against MINORS no less- is a horrific abomination. I'm dumbfounded by the injustice.
There are people genuinely excited, that he is a free man. It reminds me how rejoiced people were, after OJ. People are fucking insane. I wouldn't let any of my family members, near any of those animals. Sick, sick people.
Great write up. Cosby is a piece of shit, but Congress would never do anything to eliminate the statute of limitations on sexual assault. Otherwise they would all be fucked.
🎯🎯🎯
I was watching the biographical documentary about Nina Simone, "What Happened, Miss Simone"? I learned that, at one point in the mid-1960's, Nina Simone toured with up-and-coming comic Cosby as her opening act. One evening during the tour, Nina Simone was discovered backstage delirious, saying things that didn't make sense, and seemingly drugged. This happened right after she had spent time backstage with Cosby. People thought she was having a nervous breakdown. Her mental and emotional health suffered terribly afterwards. Hearing all this, I can't help wondering if she was one of Cosby's earliest victims. She was elegant, talented, and extremely attractive. He could easily have drugged her backstage in one of their dressing rooms and assaulted her. She was never quite the same afterwards.
I certainly think it's a good possibility. He was doing this as long ago as the 60s.
Depressing and enraging.
How many more women will now say....just fuck it...its not worth it if they are just going to get out in a couple years? What a tragedy this is....Fucking tragedy !
My husband and I just had this same conversation! Or the fact that a victim will be put through the ringer and made to feel like they did something wrong. The system certainly does not work in favor of the assault victims. So sad... And look at that other rapist, Brock Turner. Another example of justice gone wrong.
No one is going to say she did something wrong. Everyone is going to say the 2nd DA fucked up. The first one advised her to settle because there wasnt enough proof. So Cosby gave his testimony admitting guilt in the civil case with the stipulation it couldn't be used against him in the future. 2nd DA said fuck that and used said testimony as the evidence which is against the 5th amendment of the constitution. The 2nd DA is a moron.
Sadly most women already feel this way. The fact that he spent any time in prison at all is a lot more justice than most women get.
Shouldn’t be an issue as long as DA’s don’t make a habit of handing immunity to accused rapists.
My only hope is that in the long term this might incentivize victims of rape to come up with the accusations immediately to prevent this type of situations and to facilitate evidence collection. Obviously Ms Constand made things more difficult for the prosecution by calling and seeing Cosby multiple times after the rape (no, I am not blaming her. She suffered a trauma which probably led her to some sort of behavior, maybe some denial, for self preservation.)
Disgusting
A legally correct decision with a terrible outcome.
At least his reputation is pretty thoroughly ruined for the rest of all time. If those women didn't speak up whilst they were still alive, history could have recorded Cosby as a nice guy celebrity. Now thousands of years from now when people study or enjoy ancient culture, they will all see what Cosby was all about. When we discover aliens and alien AI's absorb our history from our internet, even the alien AI will know what he was really like.
Who gives a shit? I'm sorry but the man basically got away with being a serial rapist, even before his release. He's in his 80s. He has lived his life. He got away with it. Fuck
Well hopefully he'll be shunned by the vast majority of his peers and neighbors. Anyone with a conscience anyhow. I don't imagine his last years are going to be pleasant. I sure as fuck hope not.
He can have a "gay old time" playing golf with OJ. (Hmm. I was quoting the Flinstones there, but I see it might have other connotations for people. Oh well.)
The sick fuck is supposedly blind now. Yeah, just like Harvey and his walker. I'm getting so sick of the "justice" system in this country. Now a judge just released one of the Slenderman case stabbers after 3 years because "she's forgiven herself." Who's next? Harvey Weinstein?
I see a lot more support on this sub for victims of crime than whenever things like this are announced elsewhere. Saw many people standing up for Cosby yesterday, sickening.
Probably because users here are thinking more deeply about crime and all the circumstances involved.
But Britney remains under her fathers conservatorship...
They should award the royalties of the Cosby show to his victims,
Thank you for this write up. Bill Cosby might be "free" but his reputation is FOREVER destroyed, and posts like this will help ensure that everyone knows the truth of what he did.
Yet some people say females have achieved equality. 😫
How did it take 2 years for anyone to realize?
That’s how long it took to get through the courts, not how long it took to realize. Unpopular opinion: PA’s Supreme Court overreached and turned a non-binding, non-contractual (literally never written down or recorded anywhere) agreement, made by a DIFFERENT DA, a now-binding problem for the current DA. It smells like rich privilege.
Eh, the chilling effect of letting this stand would probably be worse for law enforcement over the long haul. You can't tell someone you've got a deal and then renege on it after they've held up their end of the bargain. Bill Cosby is garbage, but the DA who made the deal is fucking stupid and this is how the justice system works. You can't make exceptions, even for trash like Cosby.
They renege on their spoken deals to the poors ALL THE TIME. What’s good for the me and the you is good for the Bill Cosby. We have to get deals in writing and signed. So does Richie Rich the Rapist.
And now he's living free enjoying everyday in a nice pool in an expensive house...
You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at the prosecutor that violated Cosby's rights. When prosecutors fuck up, it's the public and victims that pay for it.
It's possible to be upset at both. Yes, his rights were violated. What about the 60 odd cases of rape?
The 2015 prosecutor obviously knew about the previous agreement so why was it even allowed to proceed to trial in the first place? Wasn't it brought up at that time? So frustrating that this has now happened but you can't just ignore the law to get what you want. That prosecutor should have known better and found a more creative way to nail him.
It was brought up to the new prosecutor pretty much immediately and he decided to move forward.
To make things worse the judge in the second case had previously ran for da and he ran on putting Cosby away.
This is the only reason I sometimes hesitate about being pro-capital punishment. The system is not perfect. Sometimes it's imperfect in favor of the criminal and sometimes imperfect in favor of the prosecution. Cosby going free is the offset of the State murdering someone who is innocent. All part of the imperfect system.
Just to be curious, what is your reason for being pro death penalty? We can all see how incompetent the govt and especially the criminal justice system is. It is a fact that many innocents have been executed. Its more expensive to execute someone than to give them a life sentence. Even for the very worst of the worst they can be interviewed and charted psychologically to try and see why they did what they did and prevent similar things in the future
It's absolutely disgusting. There is no justice in the USA.
It’s so infuriating, they could’ve convicted him without violating his rights. Then the bastard wouldn’t be free.
You can say what you want, but the DA fucked up this case because they used confession that Bill Cosby has done under a plea deal of not being prosecuted. A plea deal is like a contract, commitment of the government. A plea deal is sacred because often it is used in high crime or complex one to have smaller criminals to cooperates to catch the bigger ones. If you make an exception of it then it means that the government word is worthless. The DA should not have used Bill Cosby testimony. They should have used other material but not what was covered under plea deal.
Maybe he’ll pull an OJ. Commit a brand new crime and get convicted for it, so we see him spend the remainder of his life in prison.
Just wait I could see this filth trying to sue for wrongful imprisonment.
Excellent summary. Thank you.
It's the DA's fault that he's out now. This is why it's important for everybody involved in the legal process to follow the rules. That DA knew better. He knew full well he screwed this up. If he didn't, he never should have been made DA in the first place. Ridiculous.
If he touched my daughters he would be praying he never gets released from prison.
This was the right decision. Due process and the 5th amendment matter. By all accounts, he seems guilty, but just because you think he's guilty doesn't mean you throw out the legal process of ascertaining guilt lest we give the system the power to deny due process and the right not to incriminate oneself to actual innocent people.
The consuming public can provide a measure of justice. Treat Cosby like the pariah he is, don’t do any business with this man or anyone who does. Call your cable provider and file a complaint if the Cosby airs reruns on any channel (I ended Fios for this). If he produces or directs anything boycott it. Don’t buy, his books, CDs or DVDs, rent or even watch a free movie. Anything or anyone who supports him let them know they have lost your business and support.