Participants, celebrities, and media offer insights after the deadlock.
A Pennsylvania judge declared a mistrial in the much-watched Bill Cosby case on June 16, because the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The 79-year-old comedian-actor was tried for three counts of aggravated indecent assault based on accusations that he drugged and sexually assaulted former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Immediately, news websites and social media feeds filled with reactions to the case’s conclusion.
Actress Lena Dunham of the series “Girls” addressed what she sees as the trial’s larger implications.
Bill Cosby’s trial is about much more than Bill Cosby. When women see justice served, their own fear & trauma are eased. When they don’t…
In a story titled “Bill Cosby: A big legacy, forever tarnished, ” CNN reporter Brian Lowry cataloged Cosby’s now-tainted comedic accomplishments on behalf of those who once loved him.
“Cosby is hardly the first celebrity to experience a fall from grace or the taint of scandal, ” Lowry wrote. “But the nature of his image and the enormity of his success surely exacerbated the process, as well as suspicions that those surrounding him enabled, dismissed or at best ignored anything that might upset the gravy train.”
But not all of those who surround Cosby see themselves as enablers. In a Tweet on the Bill Cosby Twitter account, the celebrity’s wife Camille Cosby lauded the jury’s decision.
“How do I describe the District Attorney? Heinously and exploitively ambitious, ” she wrote. “How do I describe the judge? Overtly and arrogantly collaborating with the District Attorney. How do I describe the counsels for the accusers? Totally unethical. How do I describe many, but not all, general media? Blatantly vicious entities that continually disseminated intentional omissions of truths for the primary purpose of greedily selling sensationalism at the expense of a human life.”
Statement From Mrs. Camille Cosby pic.twitter.com/nfBF92BpN1
Los Angeles Times reporters have compiled a bitter list of Cosby’s showbiz milestones, matched with accusations of sexual impropriety. The list is titled: “A 50-year chronicle of accusations and accomplishments.”
“The case concerns one woman, but has brought to the forefront dozens of women who have accused the 79-year-old entertainer of violating them, ” The L.A. Times reports. “Many also allege they were drugged.”
Nonetheless, at the conclusion of the trial, a Cosby spokesman and spokeswoman described the mistrial in heroic terms.
For background, a June 6 story by Mark Seal on the The Vanity Fair Magazine website titled “The One Accuser Who May Finally Bring Bill Cosby Down For Good, ” painfully detailed the accusations from Andrea Constand that prompted the trial. The story also includes Cosby’s recollections and rationale.
As Seal wrote: In the aftermath of her meeting with Cosby “she suffered from nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, sleeplessness, and depression, and she isolated herself from her friends and her family.”
Despite his inability to convince an entire jury that Constand had been violated, District Attorney Kevin Steel plans to prosecute Cosby again.
In the wake of the mistrial CNN Anchor Jake Tapper posted a statement from another of Cosby’s accusers on his Twitter feed. Heidi Thomas prescribes a future of obscurity for the entertainer who has spent a lifetime in the spotlight.
“The only punishment that will mean anything to Bill Cosby is to be completely ignored, ” Thomas wrote. “No book deals, no royalties on a movie, not other TV series, no comedy tour, and no interviews. If he just slips away into anonymity; that would be the worst punishment for him.”
Bill Cosby accuser Heidi Thomas gave CNN the following statement following the declared mistrial: pic.twitter.com/FrpROnIsAi
