Cosby's wife calls conviction example of 'mob justice'
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby’s wife called Thursday for a criminal investigation into the suburban Philadelphia prosecutor of her husband.
She said the sexual assault conviction that could put the 80-year-old comedian in prison for the rest of his life was “mob justice, not real justice” and a “tragedy.”
Camille Cosby made her first comments on the verdict in a three-page statement sent to the media through a family spokesman, as institutions from Hollywood to Madison Avenue continued to wipe away the remnants of his legacy. He was expelled on Thursday from the motion picture academy and the Advertising Hall of Fame.
Camille Cosby compared her husband of 54 years, convicted a week ago on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, to Emmett Till and other blacks mistreated by the justice system.
“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,” she said. “This is mob justice, not real justice. This tragedy must be undone not just for Bill Cosby, but for the country.”
Camille Cosby, 74, said chief accuser Andrea Constand was a liar whose testimony about being drugged and molested at Cosby’s home in January 2004 was “riddled with innumerable, dishonest contradictions.”
Camille Cosby echoed her husband’s lawyers, who contended that Constand framed Bill Cosby to score a big payday.
Cosby is on house arrest while awaiting sentencing. His lawyers have vowed to appeal.
Her statement did not address behavior Cosby has admitted to, such as philandering and contention that he was having a consensual affair with Constand.
Constand’s lawyer bristled at the statement and asked, “why would any reputable outlet publish that?”
“Twelve honorable jurors — peers of Cosby — have spoken,” lawyer Dolores Troiani said. “There is nothing else that needs to be said.”
Constand said in a tweet last week that “Truth prevails.” The jury said in a statement Monday that she was “credible and compelling.”
Prosecutors opposing a request for juror names from The Associated Press and others urged a judge to consider a “cooling off” before they’re disclosed.
