Bill Cosby was recently required to get an updated prison mug shot, and the disgraced comedian smiles in the photo. TMZ shared the image, which features Cosby slightly grinning while wearing a face mask around his neck. The former star also appears to have some beard stubble growing, and his hair seems unkempt.
Cosby is being held at the SCI Phoenix state prison in Pennsylvania. Prison reps advised TMZ that inmate mug shots are updated periodically due to changing appearances. In 2018, Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years behind bars after being convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. He has maintained his innocence throughout the years and reportedly does not believe there is any reason to express remorse when he comes up for parole.
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Bill Cosby is trending on Twitter. Why? It appears people are giving attention to a new mug shot on the PA Department of Corrections website in which he appears to be smiling. Cosby, 83, is serving 3 to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand. pic.twitter.com/uVz6MEMUgN
— Mike Sisak (@mikesisak) October 20, 2020
In April, it was reported that Cosby was seeking early release due to worries over contracting COVID-19. In a message posted to his social media pages by his reps, Cosby’s team expressed fear that he would “not survive” if infected with the disease. They believe that both his health and his advanced age put him at high-risk for the virus.
“During a visit to the infirmary at SCI-Phoenix for high blood pressure issues, Mr. Cosby was informed that the carotid arteries on the right and left side of his neck had 90 percent blockage due to plaque build-up (the carotid arteries are the major blood vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain, neck and face),” the statement read. “Those surgeries were done separately and they were successful. Mr. Cosby now takes medication for high blood pressure and he is 100 percent blind from glaucoma.”
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. His legal team asked Wolf to change the executive order and give Cosby a compassionate relief 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. “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.
