Bill Cosby is not getting out of prison anytime soon. The 83-year-old actor has been denied parole by the Pennsylvania Parole Board, which provided several reasons for its decision, as stated in a letter obtained by CNN. The Parole Board’s letter of May 11 said Cosby must “participate in and complete additional institutional programs.”
Cosby had been serving his three to 10 years sentence in Pennsylvania state prison, after being charged guilty of sexual assault in 2018. Three years into his sentence, his parole has been rejected on the grounds of several reasons, including Cosby’s “failure to develop a parole release plan” and a “negative recommendation by the Department of Corrections.”
Andrew Wyatt, who serves as Billy Cosby’s representative said the decision is “not a surprise” to the convicted sex offender, as the board had clearly stated their course of action “if he did not participate in SVP(Sexually Violent Predator) courses.” Despite the Parole Board’s explicit declaration, Cosby does not plan on attending any of the therapy programs, said Wyatt on Thursday.
Instead, the TV star remains committed to serving his 10-year sentence without showing an iota of repentance for the crimes he claims to have not committed. According to spokesperson Wyatt, Bill Cosby will continue to refute all accusations made against him as they lack substantial evidence. Moreover, he remains optimistic about the Pennsylvania State Board granting him a new trial soon concluded Andrew Wyatt.
One of the first renowned celebrities to be accused in the #MeToo period, Bill Cosby was found guilty of drugging and subsequently raping Andrea Constand, a former basketball player who worked for his former place of graduation, Temple University, in Philadelphia in 2004.
He later appealed the court’s ruling, claiming there were countless “errors” on part of the trial judge in his case, but the court confirmed his appeal in December 2019. In June 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court accepted Cosby’s appeal, thus indicating the possibility of the decision being changed shortly.
In December 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court listened to several arguments that declared Cosby’s conviction as unfair and biased. However, even after five months, the court has not announced its ruling. Till then, the disgraced TV star will continue to remain at the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix, a prison in Pennsylvania.
Bill Cosby completes three years of his sentence in prison in September 2021. He will then be considered eligible for parole, only if he completes the treatment program and maintains a “clear conduct record.”
