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The Bill Cosby Witch Hunt Is On

Why the mistrial fuels the retrial

By Greg BradshawPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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I have been a fan of Bill Cosby's work ever since I was a child in the 1980s. Cosby created Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a cartoon based on his life as a child in Philadelphia. Fat Albert was the leader of the "Junkyard Gang," which consisted of a presumably preteen Cosby, his younger brother Russell, Rudy, and characters with unflattering nicknames like Mushmouth, Weird Harold, Dumb Donald, and Bucky.

Unflattering monikers aside, this cartoon showed the camaraderie all the characters had with each other. Whenever one of the characters got into a tough situation, he could always count on his friends to assist him throughout the episode. During the show's production, a modern day Cosby in his real life form would interject with commentary regarding the day's episode, offering advice to children watching the show if they were ever in trouble.

Fast forward almost 40 years later. Cosby was on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a woman Cosby met in 2002 through a mutual friend while she was the director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team. It was alleged that Cosby touched Constand inappropriately during a visit at Cosby's home in 2004.

Cosby was arrested and brought to trial in June, where a jury of 12 could not reach the required unanimous verdict necessary to convict. A mistrial was declared, prompting district attorney Kevin Steele to vow that he would try the case again. This prompts many questions: what new evidence could be presented that wasn't presented before? Judge Steven O'Neill had the jurors deliberate for 52 hours and they still couldn't get a unanimous verdict. Did he not consider the evidence presented? Or was the judge trying his hardest to get a guilty verdict?

If Cosby really did sexually assault Ms. Constand, then he should go to prison. But the prosecution had their chance to prove their case. In addition, Cosby and Ms. Constand had 72 phone calls after the alleged assault, with 57 of them made by Constand in an effort for her to get tickets from Mr. Cosby for her parents to see his show. That's not behavior consistent of someone who was sexually assaulted.

Another factor to consider is the political motivation of Steele. During his campaign to become the District Attorney for the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania’s D.A. office, Steele made the promise that if he were elected, he would work tirelessly in his efforts to convict Cosby of sexual assault. He would be forever known as the man that took down the legendary comedian and put him behind bars for what amounts to the rest of his natural life. This kind of political aspiration is similar to the aspirations harbored by prosecuting attorneys Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden during the infamous O.J Simpson murder trial of the mid-1990s. Whereas Clark and Darden failed to gain a conviction in that trial, Steele was sure to gain one of Cosby.

Another interesting factor of this case focuses on Judge O’Neill. His wife Deborah is a counselor at the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), a counseling center for the University of Pennsylvania and she’s also the coordinator of the Sexual Trauma Treatment Outreach and Prevention (STTOP) at the same university. While Mrs. O’Neill’s passion for helping victims of sexual abuse is nothing short of admirable, her background represents a gross conflict of interest. In simplest terms, it can’t be reasoned that her husband can be impartial during such a high profile case.

But the most interesting part of this case comes from Mr. Cosby’s wife of 53 years. Camille Cosby criticized the district attorney after the proceedings, calling him “heinously and exploitatively ambitious.” Not to be outdone, Mrs. Cosby called Judge O’Neill “overtly arrogant.” Some would say these aren’t the actions a wife should take while her husband is on trial facing serious accusations. Then again, it’s the jury who has the power to exonerate Mr. Cosby, not the judge. His job is to mete out the appropriate punished if Mr. Cosby is found guilty. And that punishment must be within the state established guidelines. Nothing more, nothing less.

But I digress. While the new trial date hasn't been set yet, all eyes will be on Pennsylvania to see what will happen next.

celebritiesentertainmenthumanity
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