Bill Cosby Guilty

Benteke

https://www.independent.ie/world-news/north-america/bill-cosby-found-guilty-of-drugging-and-molesting-a-woman-36848557.html

US comedian Bill Cosby has been convicted of drugging and molesting a woman.

A jury outside Philadelphia convicted the Cosby Show star of three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

The guilty verdict came less than a year after another jury was deadlocked on the charges.

Cosby, 80, was charged with assaulting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

His lawyer called Ms Constand a "con artist" who levelled false accusations against Cosby so she could sue him.

Cosby could get up to 10 years in prison on each of the counts.

Dozens of women have come forward in recent years to say he drugged and assaulted them. Five of the other accusers testified against him at the retrial.

The panel of seven men and five women reached a verdict after deliberating for 14 hours over two days, vindicating prosecutors' decision to retry the 80-year-old after his first trial ended with a hung jury less than a year ago.

Ms Constand, 45, a former Temple women's basketball administrator, told jurors that Cosby knocked her out with three blue pills he called "your friends" before attacking her.

It was the only criminal case to arise from a barrage of allegations from more than 60 women who said the former TV star drugged and molested them over a span of five decades.

"The time for the defendant to escape justice is over," prosecutor Stewart Ryan said in his closing argument. "It's finally time for the defendant to dine on the banquet of his own consequences."

Another prosecutor, Kristen Feden, said Cosby was "nothing like the image that he played on TV" as sweater-wearing, wisdom-dispensing father of five Dr Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show.

Cosby's retrial took place against the backdrop of #MeToo, the movement against sexual misconduct that has taken down powerful men in rapid succession, among them Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Kevin Spacey and Senator Al Franken.

The jurors all indicated they were aware of #MeToo but said before the trial they could remain impartial. Cosby's lawyers slammed #MeToo, calling Cosby its victim and likening it to a witch hunt or a lynching.

After failing to win a conviction last year, prosecutors had more courtroom weapons at their disposal for the retrial.

The other accusers' testimony helped move the case beyond a he-said, she-said, allowing prosecutors to argue that Cosby was a menace to women long before he met Ms Constand. Only one other accuser was permitted to testify at Cosby's first trial.

Cosby's new defence team, led by Michael Jackson lawyer Tom Mesereau, launched a highly aggressive attack on Constand and the other women.

Their star witness, a long-time Temple employee, testified that Ms Constand once spoke of setting up a prominent person and suing. Ms Constand sued Cosby after prosecutors initially declined to file charges, settling with him for nearly $3.4 million over a decade ago.

"You're dealing with a pathological liar," Mr Mesereau told the jury.

But Cosby himself had long ago confirmed sordid revelations about drugs and extramarital sex.

In a deposition he gave over a decade ago as part of Ms Constand's lawsuit, Cosby acknowledged he had obtained quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with, "the same as a person would say, 'Have a drink.'" The sedative was a popular party drug before the US banned it more than 30 years ago.

Cosby also acknowledged giving pills to Ms Constand before their sexual encounter. But he identified them as the over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine Benadryl and insisted they were meant to help her relax.

The entertainer broke racial barriers as the first black actor to star in a network show, I Spy, in the 1960s. He created the top-ranked Cosby Show two decades later.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

What's the weather forecast?

Zebra3

Delighted for him.

cantdecide

Madelyn Shaggy Bearer wrote: »

What's the weather forecast?

Very dry

cantdecide

Now will he get jail is the big Q

Hande hoche!

Curious as to how long he gets.

Brae100

cantdecide wrote: »

Now will he get jail is the big Q

Definitely, it's not judge Martin Nolan. Sentencing guidelines for that offence is between five and ten years.

Billy86

Good to hear though, as the slimy bag of sh** only got off the other case on a technicality.

daithi1970

..now that Bill Cosby has been done, can Weinstein and Spacey be far behind??

Dirty beggar

McMurphy

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Curious as to how long he gets.

His cell mate will be able to tell you after night 2 or 3 I reckon.

Hector Bellend

daithi1970 wrote: »

..now that Bill Cosby has been done, can Weinstein and Spacey be far behind??

Kevin Spacey wouldnt be too far behind alright

Beechwoodspark

Used to love the Cosby show. Hard to watch it now knowing this.

JP Liz V1

How is Cosby and Weinstein not already in prison?

hatrickpatrick

Absolute scumbag. Hope he's in prison until the day he dies, tbh.

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

How is Cosby and Weinstein not already in prison?

It seems that no matter where one is, in the West at least there's one thing absolutely common to all countries: the justice system and trials in general take an absolutely inordinate amount of time before they're even heard in court, never mind actually concluded.

Defunkd

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

How is Cosby and Weinstein not already in prison?

A thing called 'due process'. Bill was only found guilty today.
Harvey has allegations laid against him and police are investigating.

Defunkd

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Used to love the Cosby show. Hard to watch it now knowing this.

Eddie Murphy spoke of how Cosby criticised him for setting a bad example and being vulgar.smh.

Yamanoto

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Used to love the Cosby show. Hard to watch it now knowing this.

The outtakes hinted at his inner darkness just a tad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MurcR5Xetro

rafatoni

Where are you Oprah?

Lets be having you.....

Doctors room ghost

Straight to the big house with him.hes looking at up to 30 year according to the wireless

Yer Da sells Avon

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

Straight to the big house with him.hes looking at up to 30 year according to the wireless

Thirty years? I reckon he'll get it reduced to life.

pleas advice

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

Used to love the Cosby show. Hard to watch it now knowing this.

Hard to watch it now regardless, hasn't been on TV in years

Tokyo

One positive thing out of all this is that many states are considering removing the statute of limitations on rape cases.

Outlaw Pete

Defunkd wrote: »

Eddie Murphy spoke of how Cosby criticised him for setting a bad example and being vulgar.smh.

He also criticized Lisa Bonet for her x-rated scenes in Angel Heart.

Booted her into a spin off.... she spoke about it at the time in the following clip (from around 3mins in).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svadgRuXcUQ

Trigger Happy

He is a dirty bastard.
Those poor victims. Surprised that he is still on bail, but hopefully the sentencing hearing is not too far away.

HappyAsLarE

Did you see that clown speaking to the press saying it was a victory for women. Think she was the solicitor.

Irish Guitarist

I'll never watch the Cosby Show again. Mainly because it was unfunny shite.

eagle eye

Irish Guitarist wrote:

I'll never watch the Cosby Show again. Mainly because it was unfunny ****e.

I haven't watched it in years but I thought it was very good.
I would still watch it, maybe I be affected by what I know about him now but it's just a great family comedy imo.

I hear it's been pulled by a lot of networks due to his conviction. This is all down to social media unfortunately. I'm totally against pulling something because a person got convicted of crime. Like this is a TV show that makes people laugh. His public life has nothing to do with that.

Zaph

eagle eye wrote: »

I haven't watched it in years but I thought it was very good.
I would still watch it, maybe I be affected by what I know about him now but it's just a great family comedy imo.

I hear it's been pulled by a lot of networks due to his conviction. This is all down to social media unfortunately. I'm totally against pulling something because a person got convicted of crime. Like this is a TV show that makes people laugh. His public life has nothing to do with that.

Maybe so, but he'd still be pulling in hefty repeat fees while locked up for being a sex offender. That's not right.

eagle eye

What difference does that make? Like he is in all likelyhoid going to be locked up for the rest of his life so it won't help him.
It might benefit members of his family now or after he is gone and they are not guilty of anything that I'm aware of.

Jimbob1977

The Hollywood Democrats really need to clean their house.

I think we need to hear from Whoopi Goldberg

silverharp

hiding in plain sight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBDRwiSZSBg

DEFTLEFTHAND

Never really got his brand of humour.

pleas advice

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Never really got his brand of humour.

I love black comedy

Sile Na Gig

Johnny Dogs wrote: »

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Curious as to how long he gets.

His cell mate will be able to tell you after night 2 or 3 I reckon.

I wonder how a comment like this gets so many thanks, yet on other threads whenever sexual violence against women is brought up there’s a vocal outcry over how people don’t take sexual assault against men seriously? Cosby is obviously a scumbag of the highest order but the relish that some people take in his possible sexual assault in prison is a bit off to me.

dr.fuzzenstein

Because sometimes a dose of your own medicine is the only thing that rams the point home, pun intended.

eagle eye

dr.fuzzenstein wrote:

Because sometimes a dose of your own medicine is the only thing that rams the point home, pun intended.

But you are being a hypocrite with that attitude. You are shouting from the rooftops about how wrong what he did is and then hoping that it happens.

Grayson

eagle eye wrote: »

But you are being a hypocrite with that attitude. You are shouting from the rooftops about how wrong what he did is and then hoping that it happens.

Yeah and no.

Revenge and vengeance is sweet. We're hardwired to like it. If I remember correctly it actually affects us on a chemical level in the brain. Even when we see it happen to others.

I recognize that it's a horrible thing to happen. I recognize that an eye for an eye is bad. Yet if Cosby was harmed in some way not only would I not care but I'd probably even take a little pleasure from it. I'd feel that in some way it was just.
And that's part of the reason some political/topical discussions here get so heated. It's because that same part of our brain takes over and it's emotion feeding logic, not the other way round.

That's why it's a good idea that our justice system is independent, cool, detached and logical.

Can we meet halfway on this? Let's both agree that it's bad if he's sexually assaulted but if he happened to randomly develop an itchy groin rash it wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen?

mad muffin

The zip zop zoobity bop has come to a zip zip zoobity end…

AllForIt

What blows my mind is that he was 'so popular'. Erm, black ppl, pick your icons more carefully in future.

Sile Na Gig

AllForIt wrote: »

What blows my mind is that he was 'so popular'. Erm, black ppl, pick your icons more carefully in future.

That’s hardly fair. He was a black icon because his role depicted him as a middle class educated black person. They would have been fairly thin on the ground on TV in the 80’s. It’s not like your average fan would be privy to his history of sex crime.

Plenty of famous white people are terrible too.

Grayson

AllForIt wrote: »

What blows my mind is that he was 'so popular'. Erm, black ppl, pick your icons more carefully in future.

At his peak more than 50% of television owners in the US watched his show. It wasn't just black people.

Plus in his later years he got a lot of stick from them.

gmisk

His conviction has been overturned he is going to be released...
https://news.sky.com/story/bill-cosby-philadelphia-court-overturns-former-actors-sex-assault-conviction-12345826

Flinty997

AllForIt wrote: »

What blows my mind is that he was 'so popular'. Erm, black ppl, pick your icons more carefully in future.

So which current icons should we be avoiding lol??

Hande hoche!

That was unexpected.

silliussoddius

Grayson wrote: »

At his peak more than 50% of television owners in the US watched his show. It wasn't just black people.

Plus in his later years he got a lot of stick from them.

He was a big critic of the gangsta rap element of black culture.

Tilden Katz

AllForIt wrote: »

What blows my mind is that he was 'so popular'. Erm, black ppl, pick your icons more carefully in future.

Aaaah, wha’? The Cosby Show was popular full stop, not just amongst black audiences.