BILL COSBY | JESSE JACKSON CALLS FOR COSBY'S RELEASE AMID PANDEMIC SURGE
JESSE JACKSON CALLS FOR THE RELEASE OF COSBY AMID PANDEMIC SURGE
As you saw in my last video Dr. Cosby's team of lawyers were able to finally present proof that Cosby had handed over exculpatory evidence for the former District Attorney, who publicly announced he would not ever seek criminal charges against Cosby, was NOT presented in the trial by the NEW District Attorney, in the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court. We await the decision from the supreme court, and it looks very promising for Dr. Cosby.
MEANWHILE
Civil Rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson is calling for Bill Cosby, to be immediately released from prison citing health reasons and his vulnerability to contracting COVID-19 while behind bars. In an interview with The Philadelphia Tribune Jackson said authorities in the state should look at Cosby’s current condition and the risks involved in keeping him locked up during the pandemic.
“He’s 84 and blind. Who’s he going to hurt?,” Jackson said. “He should be home and free and away from all of those germs.”
“The government needs to do something,” Jackson, who said he has known Dr. Cosby for over 50 years, told the news outlet. “He shouldn’t still be in prison.”
Jackson also said Cosby’s humanitarian endeavors over the years should also be another reason to grant him a release. The comedian and his wife Camille are well known philanthropists who have notably donated millions of dollars to HBCUs. In 1998, the couple donated $20 million to Spelman College – the largest individual donation to an HBCU at the time.
“He’s helped so many, many people,” Jackson said. “I’m coming forward to speak out because I believe in justice too.”
Though Gov. Tom Wolf earlier granted “temporary relief” to inmates who because of health reasons are susceptible to contracting COVID-19, Cosby was exempted as the list did not include s*x offenders, The Philadelphia Tribune reported. During the interview, Jackson, however, made mention of the 41 pardons President Trump has so far issued over the last couple of weeks.
In a statement to the news outlet and following Jackson’s demand for Cosby’s release, department press secretary Maria A. Bivens said it was not within their power to release him.
“The PA DOC [Department of Corrections] does not have the authority to release inmates. The authority to release would come as a court order, pardon, commutation or parole action. Based on the reprieve criteria exempting s*x offenders, inmate Cosby is not eligible for a reprieve,” Bivens said.
That notwithstanding, Cosby and wife – via his publicist – extended their gratitude to Jackson for “for his courageousness and his support” in a statement.
“Mr. & Mrs. Cosby are forever grateful to Reverend Jackson and his family because he has been working feverishly to get the State of PA to release Mr. Cosby, since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, back in April,” the statement said.
