Judge denies Bill Cosby's bid for new trial

[DonViejo]

Source: NBC News



Cosby was sentenced to three years to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at the actor's home in suburban Philadelphia in 2004.

Oct. 23, 2018 / 2:01 PM EDT

A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday denied Bill Cosby's bid for a new trial and reduced sentence, stemming from the disgraced comic icon's conviction for sexual assault.

Cosby's defense had asked Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill for a do-over, arguing that evidence against the once-beloved comedian was old and unreliable and shouldn't have been allowed at trial.

The defense also argued that Cosby's sentence was unnecessarily harsh, at more than twice minimum guidelines. But O'Neill, in a simple one-page ruling, said he found no reason to grant a new trial or lessen the sentence.

Cosby was ordered to spend between three years to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at the actor's home in suburban Philadelphia in 2004. At the time, Constand was a women's basketball administrator at Cosby's alma mater Temple University.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-denies-bill-cosby-s-bid-new-trial-n923451

[saidsimplesimon]

1. Larry Gilmore, where are you?

His take downs were epic. I really enjoyed and adore the entire cast and crew of his cancelled show.

[steventh]

2. Larry Gilmore on twitter

I miss that show. So much truth.

Found this response to the Cosby conviction and sentencing:


Larry Wilmore
?Verified account @larrywilmore
Sep 25

I TOLD YOU I HADN’T FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU MOTHERF***ER!!!!

[saidsimplesimon]

3. Yes, the classic "I haven't forgotten" line

I'm not signed up for twitter but will attempt to view his account.

[steventh]

4. link to larry wilmore twitter

https://twitter.com/larrywilmore

I'm not signed on to twitter either. I found his posts using a duckduckgo query.

I was surprised to see that Eric Holder and Ezra Klein posted in that thread.

[LudwigPastorius]

5. Good!

Rot, funnyman.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

6. Just because evidence is "old"

Does NOT make it unrealiable.

Cosby, you brought this on yourself. Be a man and accept the hell you have brought down upon yourself. You spent decades lecturing young Black man about how to do what real men do/don't do. All the while you were drugging and molesting women. Now, you have been found guilty for your crimes.

Do your time. Shut up. You will have plenty of time to think about what real men do/don't do.

[Owl]

7. Good!

[Totally Tunsie]

8. He's just trying to stall long enough so that he can die outside of prison.

If he can get a new trial with home confinement, his lawyers can try to drag it out long enough that he never has to spend any time in jail.

Just settle back into your cell, Bill, and accept what you brought upon yourself. You play, you pay.

[NJCher]

9. as cringeworthy as it is

I'd prol'ly do the same if I were a sociopath like Cosby. He's got the money and he's at the end of his life, so why not use all that dough to effect a change in one's circumstances?

I've been told, although I do not know this first hand, that there are lawyers who negotiate the prison system for prisoners who can afford it (and dog knows we have plenty of them--Manafort, Madoff, Martha Stewart just for examples). They can get these people into positions where it's barely like a prison. More like a camp where you can't leave. I'll bet Cosby isn't suffering too much.

As for asking him to man up, he'll never see prison as an appropriate measure for his actions. He will always be the victim.

[qwlauren35]

10. This is an example

of racial bias.

We have two individuals who have sexually assaulted women.

Bill Cosby

Harvey Weinstein.

One goes to jail, one does not.

One gets a heavier sentence than similar sex offenders, one gets off scot free.

You can hate what Cosby did all you want, but either everyone gets light sentences, including Cosby, or everyone gets heavy sentences, including Weinstein.

The problem with racial bias with criminals is that everyone always says that throwing the book at a black criminal is justified, but won't complain about the lenient sentences given to white criminals. It has to be equal. Be hard on them all, or give all of them a break.

If you think about all of the "Tough on Crime" folks, you'll find that they made exceptions for white folks constantly, but not for black folks, and defended themselves on their stance on black crime, while being quiet on their lenient sentencing of whites. And we won't even talk about rich white folks, who don't even get arrested - like Harvey Weinstein.

Where is the outrage?

[NJCher]

11. Weinstein was arrested in May

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/nyregion/harvey-weinstein-new-york-police.html


I don't think you can make a racism argument. Cosby successfully avoided arrested for decades.

[qwlauren35]

12. I read some more.

I will hold out that Weinstein gets what he deserves.