Bill Cosby: Sentenced and Jailed

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Tue Sep 25, 2018 at 08:26:12 PM EST
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Bill Cosby has been sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison. He was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

Cosby, now 81 and legally blind, must serve 3 years before becoming eligible for parole. His lawyers had asked for house arrest due to his age, blindness and vulnerability in prison.

After hearing testimony from a psychologist today, the Judge declared him a "sexually violent predator".

The judge ruled on Cosby’s “sexually violent predator” status after a psychologist for the state testified that the entertainer appears to have a mental disorder that gives him an uncontrollable urge to have sex with women without their consent.

...Cosby faced a sentence of anywhere from probation to 10 years in prison.... Prosecutors asked for five to 10 years behind bars, saying he could still pose a threat to women.

[More...]

The victim, Andrea Constant, received a $3.4 million settlement over a decade ago, testified at trial. 5 other accusers were also allowed to testify at the trial in support of the prosecution's argument he was a sexual predator.

Cosby has been on house arrest since his conviction in April.

Cosby's celebrity and the court of public opinion weighed heavily against him. I disagree he's a present threat to society. At 81 and blind, and under house arrest, he's probably as harmless as a pet hamster.

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Bill Cosby: Sentenced and Jailed | 16 comments (16 topical)

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I agree Jeralyn. (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by Chuck0 on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 08:02:13 AM EST

I am not dismissing or discounting Bill Cosby's crimes. But I also don't see how an 81 year old blind man is a continued threat to society. Prisons are generally releasing people in Cosby's condition, not starting new prison sentences. As a resident of the Commonwealth of PA, I don't see Cosby's incarceration as a good use of my tax dollars.

Part of me agrees (5.00 / 3) (#3)
by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 08:15:55 AM EST

It was a tragic and borderline ridiculous scene of him being led away in cuffs.

Another part of me says I might feel different if I was one of the 55 women who accused him.


: I understand the point completely. (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Chuck0 on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 09:57:15 AM EST

But it is also the difference between seeking justice and seeking revenge. Victims don't seek justice, they seek revenge. Cosby's victims got their revenge.

honestly his age is irrelevant (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by nyjets on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 12:30:25 PM EST

Whether or not he is an old man is not really relevant.
He was found guilty of several serious crimes at an old age. The charges merit jail time. SO that is what he gets.

A person should not be allowed to avoid jail time just because he was able to get away with his crimes till he becomes an old man.


: He is a rich (none / 0) (#9)
by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 12:44:42 PM EST

Blind old man.
I'm fine with not allowing him to live out his life as a rich blind old man.

: You completely missed the point (none / 0) (#10)
by Chuck0 on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 12:48:27 PM EST

of Jeralyn's commentary.
The point made was that with his age and health, it is doubtful that he is a "danger to society."
I agree that he not a further danger to society. And I have always taken issue with the lock'em up and throw away the key crowd. Those people (and you it seems) don't take into the account the cost (in dollars alone) of that philosophy.

I agree (none / 0) (#5)
by RCBadger on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 10:26:31 AM EST

However, I don't like that he's apparently falling back on the "It's racism" accusation especially since he's been one of the biggest proponents of not using that as an excuse for decades.


: Where did you see that? (none / 0) (#7)
by Chuck0 on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 10:36:45 AM EST

Granted I haven't read every last word on his sentencing so I'm not saying it isn't true. And I agree, I don't believe there is a racist component to his sentence. It's probably more to the current climate in the country and his celebrity.

This has been my problem (none / 0) (#6)
by CST on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 10:34:13 AM EST

With a lot of the discussion surrounding this whole movement.

I want justice. To me that doesn't mean a long prison sentence. In some cases it doesn't mean any prison sentence. I don't see why the two things have to be mutually exclusive.

The biggest change for me is the removal of people from positions of power where they can take advantage of others. Somehow that get's described as either "destroying lives" or an insufficient pound of flesh. That's partly because the standard of proof is also different for where we apply that. But IMO, the standard for removal from power shouldn't be that high, certainly not as high as jail time, because it's a privilege not a right to be there in the first place. However I also think that the standard for jail time should be extremely high.

Somehow it doesn't seem like there's a ton of space for that nuance.


Just for the record (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by ragebot on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 08:41:44 PM EST

Cosby is legally blind but I am not sure some of the folks posting hear knows what that means. Normal vision is suppose to be 20/20 which means what you can see at 20 feet what a normal person can see at 20 feet. If you vision is 20/200 which means you can see at 20 feet what the normal person can see at 200 feet you meet the legal definition of being legally blind. There are lots of folks who meet that definition but have 20/20 vision when corrected by glasses.

Exactly. (none / 0) (#13)
by Towanda on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 09:45:19 PM EST

One of my siblings has been legally blind in one eye from birth. He drives, he is a physician, etc. -- with glasses.


: I did not think (none / 0) (#14)
by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 09:53:05 PM EST

He was literally blind ftr

`Bill Cosby' means nothing to me (none / 0) (#1)
by linea on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 12:52:12 AM EST

I don't have any childhood fondness for the man. I realize many people do. But when I think of fond childhood memories he most certainly isn't someone of my generation. To me, he is a vague reference to a comedian from another era.

To me, he's just an eighty-one year olld blind man. But that's pretty confusing in itself. I don't know how prison for this crime isn't justified but I also don't know how I feel about this given his age and condition. It's very confusing.

It's not confusing at all linea. (none / 0) (#11)
by fishcamp on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 07:17:03 PM EST

He did the crime and now he's doing the time. The problem for many is that he was a bonafide American hero for years and let us down with his horrible activities.


: Yep (none / 0) (#15)
by linea on Wed Sep 26, 2018 at 09:58:56 PM EST

I did write, `I don't know how prison for this crime isn't justified.'
Someone wrote of, `not allowing him to live out his life as a rich blind old man.' I hadn't thought of that and I agree. Another poster pointed out that we don't know that he is actually blind or for that matter feeble or not able to care for himself. It was an assumption I made that could well be wrong. I didn't follow this case but after reading the comments on this thread I now feel it's completely appropriate for him to spend many years in prison.

We should stop incarcerating (none / 0) (#16)
by Chuck0 on Thu Sep 27, 2018 at 12:40:35 PM EST

people we're mad at and lock up people whom we need to be protected from.