Bill Cosby Trial Updates: Defense, Prosecutors Present Opposing Arguments About Who the Real 'Con Artist' Is
The prosecutors painted Bill Cosby as the real con man in front of the jury during Tuesday's sexual assault retrial against the comedian.
All throughout the trial, Cosby's defense team pointed out that his alleged complainant Andrea Constant was a "con artist" and a "pathological liar" who was only after his money. But in the closing arguments during the trial, the prosecutors pointed out that it was the 80-year-old actor and TV host was the true con man in the case instead of Constant.
"He is nothing like the image that he plays on TV," prosecutor Kristen Feden stated in front of the court on Tuesday. "In fact, he utilized that image and cloaked himself so that he was able to gain the trust, gain the confidence of these young women so he could strip them of their ability to say no, administering an intoxicant the same way he administered an intoxicant to Andrea Constand," she went on to say.
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On the other hand, the other prosecutor M. Stewart Ryan also accused the defense team of putting the blame on the victim and appealed to the jury to stand with Constand.
"It's time for each and every one of you to stand with Andrea Constand and look that man in the eye and tell him the truth about what he did," Ryan stated as reported by Variety.
But for defense lawyer Kathleen Bliss, questioning the real intention of the victim cannot be considered as victim shaming. "Gut feelings are not rational decisions. Mob rule is not due process. And just as we have had horrible crimes in our history, we've also had horrible, horrible periods of time where emotion and hatred and fear overwhelmed us. Witch hunts, lynchings, McCarthyism," Bliss also said based on the report from CNN.
The 45-year-old accuser shared that Cosby gave her three pills which he called "your friends" and molested her back in January 2014. Her statement was reinforced by five other women who also accused him of drugging and assaulting in different occasions.
On the other hand, Cosby claimed that he only gave Constand one and a half tablet of the over-the-counter drug Benadryl to help her calm down before their consensual sexual encounter.
The TV personality was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, which he pleaded not guilty. If the jury will find him responsible for the crimes, he might spend a maximum of 30 years behind bars.
This is the second trial for the same charges filed against Cosby, since the first trial ended in a deadlock back in June 2017 after more than 50 hours of deliberation. A different set of jurors has been called for the retrial, which is composed of a younger set of jurors.
The closing arguments of both the defense team and the prosecution team had been heard, which means that the deliberations of the jury are speculated to start on Wednesday when the retrial resumes the hearing. This time, the jurors are expected to finally make a decision regarding the long-running sexual assault trial against Cosby.
