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Reactions To Bill Cosby Guilty Verdicts: He’s Going To Jail And ‘This Verdict Does Nothing’

Reactions To Bill Cosby Guilty Verdicts: He’s Going To Jail And ‘This Verdict Does Nothing’

Written by Dana Sanchez

Apr 27, 2018

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Once considered “America’s Dad,” Bill Cosby, 80, has been found guilty at retrial by a Pennsylvania jury of seven men and five women on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

When the first guilty verdict was read, Cosby dropped his head and then appeared to sink below the level of the desk. “He just disappeared so I couldn’t give you any kind of reaction other than someone who’s sitting and then partially collapses forward,” said ABC News Correspondent Linsey Davis.

There were audible gasps in the room as the verdict was read. Three of Cosby’s accusers had to be escorted from the courtroom, they were so overcome with emotion.

Dozens of women said that the comedian drugged and sexually abused them. This trial is considered a vindication for them and one of the first major criminal convictions since the beginning of the #MeToo movement.

The statute of limitations was up long before most of the women came forward.

But in 2015, Cosby was charged with the 2004 assault of Andrea Costand, who said Cosby gave her pills in his Pennsylvania home and then molested her, Vox reported:

The case first went to trial in June 2017, and ended in a mistrial. Then came the #MeToo movement. After the New York Times and the New Yorker reported on the widespread allegations of sexual abuse by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, more and more stories came pouring out about high-profile men who abused their power.

Cosby’s own defense team said the #MeToo movement had created a mob mentality that could prevent a fair trial. Five additional accusers were heard this time around.

Cosby
Bill Cosby is escorted out of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Tuesday Sept. 25, 2018, in Eagleville, Pa., following his sentencing to three-to-10-year prison sentence for sexual assault. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)

How likely is it that Cosby will spend no time in prison?

“Very unlikely,” said ABC News Senior Legal Correspondent Sunny Hostin. The judge could give no time in prison up to 30 years, she said. “(Cosby) could very well spend the rest of his life in prison.

“Given the severity of the convictions, of the verdict, his actions and the moment we’re in, in terms of accountability for men and aggression towards women … I doubt that Cosby will walk away a free man. I think he’ll spend tonight in prison.”

Cosby will be 81 in 2 months. He is legally blind.

Responses to the Cosby verdict on Twitter ranged from sadness and jubilation to calls for white celebrity offenders Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein to be held to the same standards of accountability as Cosby.

https://twitter.com/21MarvelousMarv/status/989576710784978945

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