“Evil may so shape events that Caesar will occupy a palace and Christ a cross, but that same Christ will rise up and split history into A.D. and B.C., so that even the life of Caesar must be dated by his name. Yes, ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’”
That’s a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. It’s comforting to those who believe that, if you wait long enough, you will be vindicated. Those who seek immediate justice, however, reject the notion that you must wait to have your name cleared, your goods returned to you, your convictions erased.
Bill Cosby might fall into the latter group, given his advanced age and limited time on earth. Still, I think anyone who has observed his calvary over the past few years would be right in thinking that just now, he’s glad that the arc bent in his direction.
Or in words less eloquent, but more accurate: better late than never.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania threw out Cosby’s conviction on charges of sexual assault. I don’t think I need to rehash the facts and procedural history in this matter. Anyone who has been paying attention to the story knows that the comedian was criminally charged back in 2015 in Montgomery County, was initially tried in 2017 and after a mistrial was declared, was finally convicted in 2018 of three counts of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison.
Since 2018, he’s been known as inmate NN7687. On Wednesday, he got his name back, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that his due process rights had been violated by the prosecutors, the judge, the jury, and every other person who had a hand in his conviction.
The court held that Cosby was induced to waive his 5th amendment right against self-incrimination in a civil proceeding, with the promise that he would not be criminally prosecuted. That civil proceeding was the deposition in the case filed against him by Andrea Constand, the only woman who alleged abuse within the statute of limitations.
The court noted that since Cosby “relied upon” this promise not to prosecute, he then made “several incriminating statements.” Those statements were used against him at trial. Furthermore, the prosecutor Kevin Steele presented the testimony of witnesses who claimed they’d been abused decades before and well outside of the statute of limitations as some sort of evidence of “pattern and practice.” He did this with the authorization of the trial judge, Steven O’Neill.
This was the nail in the coffin, and assured Cosby’s convictions. You also have to remember that this trial played out in the heat of the #MeToo crusade, filled with accusations against any man who’d ever looked the wrong way at a woman. It was a legal, social, and moral disgrace.
Cosby went to jail, and the women and their supporters danced their victory dance. Feminists had made their point, gotten their pound of flesh and planted their flag on the highest of social hills.
The fact that due process had been shattered and the Constitution shredded was considered necessary collateral damage so we would all be able to celebrate the “no means no, even when I don’t say it loud enough” mantra. It was the revenge of the Handmaids. It was a feeding frenzy.
And everyone thought it was over, and justice had been served.
But Cosby refused to admit his guilt, because it hadn’t been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Justice had been manipulated, massaged, coerced, and transformed into something ugly.
Over the past six years, I’ve written many articles for this paper, and others. The headlines were controversial, the content even more so. I can’t print some of the names I’ve been called, but I can assure you they rarely exceeded four letters. I even had a former editor from a former newspaper for which I wrote publish a cloying “apology” to her readers, many of whom had been triggered by my defense of Cosby. So nice to see the Fourth Estate grovel before those who can’t deal with controversy.
Ultimately, though, it didn’t matter. Words are meaningless. What matters is the law, truth, procedural fairness, and time. As Dr. King wrote, it might move slowly, that arc. But as long as it reaches toward justice, the wait is worth it.
Even, I think, for an 83-year-old man from Philadelphia.
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Copyright 2021 Christine Flowers, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Christine Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Delaware County Daily Times, and can be reached at [email protected].
“….so we would all be able to celebrate the “no means no, even when I don’t say it loud enough” mantra. It was the revenge of the Handmaids. It was a feeding frenzy.”
More like “No means no, even when women are too drugged to say it!” It was RAPE! it was, in Whoopie’s lingo, ” “Rape”, rape”.
So sad that Bill Cosby became such a pig.
There is the letter of the law, and there is the spirit of the law. Only an unclean spirit would sanction letting one pervert off in order to cut a deal that puts other perverts in jail. Only an unclean spirit would allow some women to get justice for being drugged and raped, while others get denied because their own personal molester had fame and fortune. Cosby is as bad and guilty as O.J.,,,another of fame and fortune who bought his way off the hook not of proven justice but popular opinion with a lot of race thrown in, like in the old days of Rome when the murdering gladiators were treated like rock stars, while the Christians were fed to the lions. Cosby’s release is no victory for the American system of Justice, just an admission of poor governance and corrupt trial lawyers, the real co-conspirators of injustice. There is no reason to rejoice Cosby’s release into the general public, probably with more drugs and ill intentions in hand.
That is why i say, justice May have been done, PROCEEDURALLY, but not literally.
Gotta love shady deals. My XO used to say lawyers are the ****** of society, and judges are their pimps. This whole fiasco puts an exclamation point on that.
Why do you think SO MANY politicians are FORMER (Or even current) lawyers.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Whatever happened to that good old common sense?
When a cop stops you you can help yourself by keeping your hands on the wheel, being polite and doing exactly what you are told. If you slug the cop or run from the cop you are enabling your own victimhood.
Not to say that there are no legitimate victims in Hollywood but most likely when you go to the casting couch you know what’s going to happen there and you are expecting to get something in return. If you don’t get what you expected then you see yourself as a victim.
If you do become a victim there are a few things you need to do to get justice. First, report the crime right away. Don’t wait years.
Gather whatever evidence you have to prove a crime was committed, that you are the victim and who the perp is.
5 witnesses who say the same thing happened to them but they never reported it, have no proof and waited years before saying anything are not evidence. The prosecutor and the judge should know that.
Many things can be avoided. Many things can be remedied but you have to be accountable. The legal system has rules that must be followed. The person that prosecuted this case was bound by a previous deal whether he liked the deal or not. The prosecutor had to know that and the judge who heard the case should have known it too.
What happens now when Cosby sues the state for false imprisonment?
OR tries to sue his victims for defamation.
IF indeed Cosby did commit the crimes of which he was accused, it is time now to “forgive and forget” and thus let him live out his remaining days in peace.
All too often, a wrong is held as totally unforgivable; in some cases decades or centuries after the event. Instead, adopt the grace of Christ and forgive, forgive, forgive.