Source: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty
Bill Cosby is still behind bars after being denied parole earlier in the month, although a decision awaits from Pennsylvania’s highest court regarding the beleaguered entertainer’s freedom. In the decision, it was revealed that Cosby being unwilling to attend courses geared towards designated sex offenders was the basis of the denial.
Deadline provided a detailed account of Cosby’s ordeal, noting that the 83-year-old star’s refusal to enroll in a “sex offenders and violence prevention” treatment program was among the reasons why he was denied parole.
More from the May 11 letter from the Pennsylvania Parole Board:
FOLLOWING AN INTERVIEW WITH YOU AND A REVIEW OF YOUR FILE, AND HAVING CONSIDERED ALL MATTERS
REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THE PAROLE BOARD, IN THE EXERCISE OF ITS DISCRETION, HAS DETERMINED AT THIS TIME THAT: YOU ARE DENIED PAROLE/REPAROLE.
THE REASONS FOR THE BOARD’S DECISION INCLUDE THE
FOLLOWING:
YOUR NEED TO PARTICIPATE IN AND COMPLETE ADDITIONAL INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAMS.
THE NEGATIVE RECOMMENDATION MADE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS.
YOUR FAILURE TO DEVELOP A PAROLE RELEASE PLAN.
YOU ARE TO BE REVIEWED UPON COMPLETION OF PROGRAMMING AS INDICATED BY RECENT DOC ASSESSMENT.
At Cosby’s next parole board hearing, the board added that it will consider moving forward if he completes the treatment program and further gains a “favorable recommendation” from the Department of Corrections.
Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt says their side was aware that this outcome would be a possibility.
“It was brought to our attention by Mr. Cosby that over the past months, members of the PA State Parole Board had met with him and empathically stated, ‘if he did not participate in SVP [Sexually Violent Predator] courses that his parole would be denied,’” Wyatt offered in a statement. “Mr. Cosby has vehemently proclaimed his innocence and continues to deny all allegations made against him, as being false, without the sheer evidence of any proof.”
Wyatt adds that Cosby is hopeful that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will vacate his conviction or award him a new trial.
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Photo: Getty
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