Though the Pennsylvania Governor has granted certain inmates temporary release due to coronavirus, Bill Cosby has been deemed ineligible.
While the coronavirus has been wreaking havoc on a global scale, impacting damn near everybody with varying degrees severity, many American prisons have been hit particularly hard. It got so bad that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf ordered the temporary release inmates amidst the pandemic, provided the following criteria are met:
“Inmates must be] non-violent and who otherwise would be eligible for release within the next 9 months or who are considered at high risk for complications coronavirus and are within 12 months their release.”
Montgomery County Correctional Facility/Getty s
Despite his attempts to benefit from the order, Bill Cosby bid for temporary release has been ficially rejected given that he was arrested for a crime violent nature. A report from Deadline cites the District Attorney’s response, which confirms that “Mr. Cosby is not eligible under Gov. Wolf’s order since he was convicted a violent fense (aggravated indecent assault) and was determined to be a Sexually Violent Predator.”
In response to the denial, Cosby’s publicist Andrew Wyatt acknowledged the nature the crimes, but argued that other factors made his client a higher risk for the possibly-fatal virus. “With the surge the COVID-19 plague and its effects on the health the elderly, people color and the fact that Mr. Cosby doesn’t have the luxury social distancing (due to his blindness),” he reasons. “Makes him a candidate to be release and remanded to house arrest.”
At this point, Cosby and his team are waiting to see how Governor Wolf’s order plays out; should they feel the move is warranted, they may consider filing an appeal.