Phylicia Rashad Speaks Out After Bill Cosby Conviction Is Overturned

Comedian Bill Cosby‘s sexual assault conviction was overturned Wednesday, and the former TV star’s on-screen spouse Phylicia Rashad is reacting with a controversial comment. After the news was announced, Rashad took to Twitter to proclaim her happiness, stating that a “terrible wrong” has been “righted.” She added that she believes Cosby’s initial conviction was “a miscarriage of justice.”

On Wednesday, it was reported that Pennsylvania’s Supreme court has overturned 83-year-old Cosby’s previous sexual assault conviction. In a statement, the court explained that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who chose to have Cosby arrested, “was obligated to stand by his predecessor’s promise not to charge Cosby.” This was due to a deal Cosby had made with the former D.A., which was made so that the comedy legend would agree to testify in a civil case brought by Andrea Constand, the Temple University sports administrator he had been convicted of drugging and violating.

Following the news of Cosby facing freedom, after spending nearly three years of a possible 10-year sentence behind bars, Rashad made her controversial comments on Twitter. However, she shut off her replies, so people cannot tweet back to that specific post. Scroll down to read more about the case and see what social media users are saying about Rashad’s defense of Cosby.

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In 2018, Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years behind bars after being convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand. He has been held at the SCI Phoenix state prison in Pennsylvania.

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In April 2020, it was reported that Cosby was seeking early release due to worries over contracting COVID-19. In a message posted to his social media by reps, Cosby’s team expressed fear that he would “not survive” if infected with the disease.

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They believe that both his health and his advanced age put him at high risk for the virus. At the time, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf did issue an order that allowed around 1,500 nonviolent offenders to be released, but Cosby was not eligible due to his status as a sex offender.

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Cosby’s legal team asked Wolf to change the executive order and give Cosby a compassionate release due to his health problems. “Mr. Cosby was not given a life sentence nor a death sentence, so we are requesting that Gov. Wolf use his gubernatorial powers to show compassion to another human being, Bill Cosby,” the statement read.

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The statement continued, “It has been well documented in the media and by the Secretary of Prisons, John Wetzel, that SCI-Phoenix has been badly infected with the Covid-19 virus.” Ultimately, Wolf did not make an exception for Cosby.

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Most recently, Cosby attempted to get an early release by parole. However, he was denied. Keystone State’s Parole Board revealed the list of reasons why Cosby was denied parole, with one being that he opted to not take a court-ordered sexual assault and harassment course.

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While Rashad and other Cosby supporters have issued comments on his release, it does not appear that Cosby has yet made a statement.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.