Bill Cosby’s wife slams ‘mob justice’ behind sexual assault conviction
Camille Cosby called for a criminal investigation into prosecutor Kevin Steele who pushed the case against the 80-year-old comedian.
Bill Cosby’s wife has called for a criminal investigation into the suburban Philadelphia prosecutor behind his sexual assault conviction, saying the case was “mob justice, not real justice”.
Camille Cosby also said the case that could put the 80-year-old comedian in prison for the rest of his life was a “tragedy” that must be undone.
She made her first comments on the verdict in a three-page statement sent to the media through a family spokesman a week after a jury found her husband of 54 years guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
She echoed Cosby’s lawyers, who argued Ms Constand framed him to score a big payday.
Ms Constand’s lawyer bristled at the statement and asked: “Why would any reputable outlet publish that?”
“Twelve honourable jurors – peers of Cosby – have spoken,” lawyer Dolores Troiani said. “There is nothing else that needs to be said.”
Ms Constand said in a tweet last week that “truth prevails”.
She compared his treatment to that of Emmett Till, the black teenager who was kidnapped and murdered after witnesses said he whistled at a white woman in a Mississippi grocery store in 1955.
Mrs Cosby said her husband’s prosecution was politically motivated, repeating his team’s contention that he had been a pawn in a heated race for district attorney.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele attacked opponent Bruce Castor in campaign ads over his decision not to charge Cosby in 2005 and announced Cosby’s arrest a month after winning the November 2015 election.
“If they can do this to Mr Cosby, they can do so to anyone,” she said.
Mrs Cosby, 74, stayed away from both of her husband’s trials, except for the defence’s closing arguments.
Before the jury came in last week, she went to the defence table and put her arm around Mr Cosby, who is legally blind.
When it was the prosecution’s turn to argue, she left the courtroom, and Ms Constand entered.
Cosby is on house arrest while awaiting sentencing that could put him in prison for the rest of his life.
Mrs Cosby’s statement comes as colleges around the country continue rescinding honorary degrees awarded to the comedian and as the TV academy said it is reviewing his inclusion in its Hall of Fame.
Colby College in Maine said on Wednesday it was rescinding an honorary degree, while Yale University did the same on Tuesday.
