Bill Cosby’s wife Camille breaks silence: “This is mob justice, not real justice”
Bill Cosby’s wife Camille has broken her silence, calling for a probe into the “corrupt” office of the prosecutor who finally convicted her husband.
The disgraced comedian’s wife of 54 years released a blistering statement, writing: “I am publicly asking for a criminal investigation of that district attorney and his cohorts. This is a homogeneous group of exploitative and corrupt people, whose primary purpose is to advance themselves professionally and economically at the expense of Mr Cosby’s life. If they can do this to Mr Cosby, they can do so to anyone.”
Her comments come a week after Cosby was convicted of three charges of aggravated indecent assault following a three-week retrial in Philadelphia.
The charges against Cosby were filed a decade after Andrea Constand, a former university basketball administrator, accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in January 2005.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, who prosecuted the case, campaigned on a promise that he would try Cosby after his predecessor did not want to do so.
“In the case of Bill Cosby, unproven accusations evolved into lynch mobs, who publicly and privately coerced cancellations of Bill Cosby’s scheduled performances; syndications of The Cosby Show; rescissions of honorary degrees and a vindictive attempt to close an exhibition of our collection of African-American art in the Smithsonian Museum of African Art,” Camille wrote.
The 74-year-old’s statement also slammed the media, which she blamed for “frenzied, relentless demonisation of [Cosby] and unquestioning acceptance of accusers’ allegations.”
She wrote in a Facebook post: "Bill Cosby was labelled as guilty because the media and accusers said so... period. And the media ensured the dissemination of that propaganda by establishing barricades preventing the dissemination of the truth in violation of the protections of the First Amendment. Are the media now the people’s judges and juries?"
"This is mob justice, not real justice," she added. "This tragedy must be undone not just for Bill Cosby, but for the country."
No sentencing date has been set for Cosby, who remains under electronic monitoring in his Pennsylvania home.
He faces up to 10 years in jail on each count.