A public bid to release Bill Cosby from prison early due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic was unsuccessful Thursday when prison officials said there’s little to no chance the 82-year-old will be released, and attorney Gloria Allred told Your Content she believes Cosby remains an active threat to women throughout the state.
“I am glad that Bill Cosby does not appear to qualify for release under Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s order for release of certain incarcerated inmates, because of the spread of COVID-19 to certain correctional facilities.” Gloria Allred told Your Content.
“Mr. Cosby is a convicted felon who has been classified as a sexually violent predator and who is required to register as a sex offender. I think that if he were to be released there is a strong argument that he could be considered as a potential risk to the health and safety of women in that state.
We broke the story … sources at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections said the comedian likely won’t be granted any early release due to unique conditions surrounding his case.
“Based on the criteria exempting sex offenders and knowing his highly publicized case he would not qualify,” a Department of Corrections spokesperson told Your Content.
Allred continued: “In addition, Mr. Cosby has not accepted responsibility for his crimes. Instead he has seemed to argue that he is a political prisoner or the victim of racial discrimination, which demonstrates his utter disrespect for the verdict of the jury. Mr. Cosby is in prison where he belongs. With or without the pandemic, I believe that he should serve his full sentence in the custody of law enforcement.”
SCI Phoenix, which opened in 2018, has special isolation rooms in its infirmary to handle such cases. Officials previously told Your Content staff and inmates have been provided with appropriate personal protective equipment and are instructed to wear them on the impacted housing unit.
“Bill Cosby is no danger to society. The real rot comes of the schadenfreude of bitter harpies who’d rather see an old man die in prison than release him,” prominent Connecticut-based criminal defense attorney Norm Pattis told Your Content. “Shame on the Department of Corrections.”
According to the Pa. Department of Corrections, nine inmates from SCI Phoenix have been granted reprieve due to growing safety concerns surrounding COVID-19 to date.
Gov. Tom Wolf issued reprieves for Department of Corrections inmates who met criteria for the Temporary Program to Reprieve Sentences of Incarceration, which the governor established through order on April 10.
“We truly feel that Mr. Cosby will be released and remanded to house arrest within the upcoming weeks. We are extremely thankful and grateful to Governor Wolf (PA), Pennsylvania State Legislators & Secretary of Prisons for Pennsylvania, John Wetzel. These individuals stood tall and strong —without letting Blue versus Red, Us versus Them, Public Opinion, Media Scrutiny and/or Personal Feelings get in the way of salvaging human lives within the confines of the Pennsylvania State Prison System.” Bill Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt said in a statement Thursday morning.
According to Wyatt, the 82-year-old comic isn’t able to social distance due to his medical complications.
“Mr. Cosby is 82 years old; Mr. Cosby has an underlying medical condition— blindness; Mr. Cosby doesn’t have the luxury of practicing social distancing because he has to rely on the aid of others for almost everything, which places him a very dangerous predicament to contract COVID-19 from an Officer and/or Inmate; Mr. Cosby is not a menace to society; and Mr. Cosby has been a model citizen for 82 years of his life and has been a model citizen as an inmate at SCI- Phoenix for almost (1) year and (6) months,” Wyatt said.
Bill Cosby, 82, was sentenced to 3 to ten years imprisonment in September 2018.
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