Camille Cosby, Wife Of Bill Cosby, Asks For A Criminal Investigation Of Montgomery County DA Steele And 'His Cohorts'
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- One week after Bill Cosby was found guilty on all counts in his sexual assault retrial, his wife, Camille, is calling for a criminal investigation into Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, and his cohorts. She claims the Constitution was not crafted for the people as "most people" were not part of the framing of the document and further states that "In the case of Bill Cosby, unproven accusations evolved into lynch mobs, who publicly and privately coerced cancellations of Bill Cosby's scheduled performances; syndications of"The Cosby Show"; rescissions of honorary degrees and a vindictive attempt to close an exhibition of our collection of African American art in the Smithsonian Museum of African Art."
In a statement released this morning, Mrs. Cosby claims that the media and his accusers labeled her husband as guilty and questions whether the media are now the peoples' judges and juries.
Mrs. Cosby starts off questioning the Constitution:
"We the people" are the first three words of our nation's Constitution, but who were those people in 1787? Dr. Howard Zinn, the renowned, honest historian, states in his best selling book, A People's History of the United States: "The majority of the 55 men who framed the Constitution were men of wealth in land, slaves, manufacturing or shipping." Clearly, most people were not included in that original draft of the Constitution; no women, Native Americans,
poor white men; and, absolutely, no enslaved Africans."
And later says: "Once again, an innocent person has been found guilty based on an unthinking, unquestioning, unconstitutional frenzy propagated by the media and allowed to play out in a supposed court of law. This is mob justice, not real justice. This tragedy must be undone not just for Bill Cosby, but for the country."
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The jury deliberated for 14 hours over two days to determine the 80-year-old actor's fate.
CBS3's Joe Holden reports that Cosby showed no emotion when the verdict was read. Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Each count carries a sentence up to 10 years in prison, as he could now potentially spend his final years behind bars.
He is likely to get less than that under state sentencing guidelines, bust given his age, even a modest term could mean he will die behind bars.
However, when Steele asked to have Cosby's bail revoked because he has a plane, the actor lashed out at the DA, slamming something down on the desk and uttering an expletive.
"He doesn't have a plane, you a******," Cosby yelled at Steele.
After the verdict was read, women who accused Cosby of sexual assault left the courtroom crying and hugging one another.
Outside the courthouse, attorney Gloria Allred thanked the jury for convicting Cosby.
"Justice has been done!" said Allred.
She continued, "We are so happy that finally, we can say women are believed, and not only on 'Me Too,' but in a court of law where they were under oath, where they testified truthfully, where they were attacked, where they were smeared, where they were denigrated, where there were attempts to discredit them and after all is said and done, women were finally believed and we thank the jury so much for that."
Actress Lili Bernard, who accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her, called it a victory for all victims.
"I feel like my faith in humanity is restored," she said outside the courtroom.
Defense attorney Tom Mesereau said they will appeal the verdict.
"We are very disappointed by the verdict and we don't think Mr. Cosby is guilty of anything. The fight is not over," said Mesereau.
Steele said during a Thursday afternoon press conference that Cosby spent decades preying on women and used his celebrity and network of supporters to conceal his crimes.
"Justice was done," said Steele.
Steele got emotional while thanking Constand for her "courage" and "resilience" to speak up against a "powerful man." The DA was choking up and holding back tears while speaking to the media.
Steele added he will look to make Cosby pay for the cost of his trials.
"When a sentencing occurs, there's also an assessment for the cost of prosecution. We expect we will be arguing the cost associated with both the trials, the sequestration, the sheriff's costs for this, will go to the defendant. I will be relying on defense counsel's opening remarks when he was talking about $3.38 million being a paltry sum, or simply a nuisance, so clearly the cost of prosecution in this matter should not be a problem for the defendant," said Steele.
"United we stand," Constand tweeted following the verdict.
Bruce Castor, the former Montgomery County DA who declined to prosecute Bill Cosby released this statement on the guilty verdict:
"My congratulations to District Attorney Kevin Steele and the entire Montgomery County law enforcement team on their successful prosecution of Bill Cosby. The masterful use of Cosby's incriminating civil deposition, plus the other witnesses who came forward and testified after unprecedented publicity, proved to be an unbeatable courtroom one-two combination in buttressing the victim. I wish the prosecution all the best going into sentencing and during the appeal process."
During the first day of deliberations, the jury asked Judge Steven O'Neill the legal meaning of "consent." The judge told the jurors they had already been given the definitions of the charges. On the second day of deliberations, the jury revisited the testimony of star defense witness Marguerite Jackson who said accuser Andrea Constand once spoke of framing a prominent person to score a big payday.
Cosby did not take the stand in his retrial.
Seven men and five women saw a half-dozen accusers testify that the man once revered as "America's Dad" had a sordid secret life that involved preying on women for his own sexual gratification. And they have heard from a witness who says his chief accuser talked about framing a high-profile person to score a big payday.
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Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault — all stemming from Andrea Constand's allegations that he knocked her out with three pills he called "your friends" and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in January 2004.
Cosby has said he gave Constand 1½ tablets of the over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine Benadryl to help her relax before what he called a consensual sexual encounter.
The jury in Cosby's first trial weighed the evidence for more than 52 hours over six days without reaching a verdict.
This time, both sides gave the retrial jury much more to consider.
Prosecutors were able to call five additional accusers who testified that Cosby also drugged and violated them — including one woman who asked him through her tears, "You remember, don't you, Mr. Cosby?"
Cosby's new defense team, led by Mesereau, countered with a far more robust effort at stoking doubts about Constand's credibility and raising questions about whether Cosby's arrest was even legal.
The defense's star witness was a former colleague of Constand who says Constand spoke of leveling false sexual assault accusations against a high-profile person for the purpose of filing a civil suit. Constand got a civil settlement of nearly $3.4 million from Cosby.
Both juries also heard from Cosby himself — not on the witness stand, but via an explosive deposition he gave in 2005 and 2006 as part of Constand's civil suit against him. In it, Cosby acknowledged he gave the sedative quaaludes to women before sex in the 1970s.
Cosby's lawyers devoted the last two days of their case to travel records they say prove he could not have been at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004. They argue that any encounter there with Constand would have happened earlier, outside the statute of limitations.
Cosby's private jet records and travel itineraries produced by Cosby's lawyers do not show any flights in or out of the Philadelphia area in January 2004, but they have large gaps — a total of 17 days that month in which Cosby was not traveling, performing or taping TV appearances.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
