3 Md. Universities Revoke Bill Cosby's Honorary Degrees
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) -- Several universities in Maryland have revoked Bill Cosby's honorary degrees, less than two months after he was convicted of multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault.
The University System of Maryland said Friday that it received requests to rescind degrees from the University of Baltimore, the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.
The USM Board of Regents released the following statement:
"As Maryland's public university system, we are collectively and individually committed to reducing the incidence of sexual misconduct and to responding when it occurs," said USM Chancellor Robert Caret. "The universities' requests, and the board's decision, to rescind honorary degrees awarded to an individual later convicted of sexual assault reaffirms our values and sends a signal to all students, faculty, and staff across our institutions and to the people of Maryland. Sexual misconduct will not be tolerated, much less honored."
The three local schools join Johns Hopkins University, which revoked Cosby's honorary degree on the same day of the actor and comedian's conviction.
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Cosby was convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, completing the spectacular late-in-life downfall of a comedian who broke racial barriers in Hollywood on his way to TV superstardom as America's Dad.
Cosby, 80, could end up spending his final years in prison after a jury concluded he sexually violated Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004.
He stared straight ahead as the verdict was read but moments later lashed out loudly at District Attorney Kevin Steele after the prosecutor demanded Cosby be sent immediately to jail. Steele told the judge Cosby has an airplane and might flee.
Cosby angrily denied he has a plane and called Steele an "a--hole," shouting, "I'm sick of him!"
RELATED: Bill Cosby Makes Outburst In Court After Guilty Verdict
Judge Steven O'Neill decided Cosby can remain free on $1 million bail while he awaits sentencing but restricted him to Montgomery County, where his home is. No sentencing date was set.
Cosby waved to the crowd outside the courthouse, got into an SUV and left without saying anything. His lawyer Tom Mesereau declared "the fight is not over" and said he will appeal.
Shrieks erupted in the courtroom when the verdict was announced, and some of Cosby's accusers whimpered and cried. Constand remained stoic, then hugged her lawyer and members of the prosecution team.
"Justice has been done!" celebrity attorney Gloria Allred, who represented some of Cosby's accusers, said on the courthouse steps. "We are so happy that finally we can say women are believed."
The jury of seven men and five women deliberated 14 hours over two days.
The verdict came after a two-week retrial in which prosecutors had more courtroom weapons at their disposal than they did the first time: They put five other women on the stand who testified that Cosby, married for 54 years, drugged and violated them, too.
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