BILL COSBY WASN’T
ON TRIAL. DUE PROCESS WAS ON TRIAL.
“The principle that there is a presumption of
innocence in favor of the accused is the undoubted law, axiomatic and
elementary, and its enforcement lies at the foundation of the administration of
our criminal law. … ”Coffin v.
U.S. 156 U.S. 432
From the outset, I do not want anyone to neither claim that
these comments are about favoring or supporting a rape culture nor that
encouraging any form of sexual assault. These are serious crimes that need to
be addressed in our society. However, I find lying about rape or sexual assault
to be just as evil as the crime of rape itself. In light of the controversy
over the allegations of sexual assault against Bill Cosby, I find it very
interesting that everything in the national media about Mr. Cosby has been
trial, conviction, and sentencing without due process.
You see as terrible as the accusations that Cosby has been
accused of, under the 5th, 6th, and 14th
amendments, all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty. In the
Supreme Court case that I quoted above in this article, it established the
presumption of innocence in our judicial system, as well as the definition of
reasonable doubt. The U.S. Supreme Court further held that:
“It is, of necessity, the condition of mind
produced by the proof resulting from the evidence in the cause. It is the
result of the proof, not the proof itself, whereas the presumption of innocence
is one of the instruments of proof, going to bring about the proof from which
reasonable doubt arises; thus, one is a cause, the other an effect. “
The jurors deliberated for over fifty-two hours according to
various news reports. According to the AP, there were several votes, including
a vote for an acquittal all counts They looked at the evidence and judging by
comments made by one of the jurors, they did not find enough evidence to
convict Cosby. That’s what the jury is supposed to do based on the evidence or
lack of evidence in this matter when they are inside the deliberation room.
Yet, media outlets such as The Root, CNN, VICE, Yahoo News,
AOL NEWS, BET, and others continue to ignore this part, and focus on a 10-2
verdict for guilty. It also been said that there were also evenly split
verdicts to acquit around 7-5, unanimous verdicts to acquit, but we fail to
hear these arguments. The media also ignored that the accuser, Ms. Andre
Constand, admitted to meeting with Bill Cosby on several occasions before and
after this alleged incident occurred, including one incident of which she gave
Cosby gifts after this alleged assault occurred. She testified to this on the
witness stand. This part is not touched on by mainstream media.
In an article posted on The Huffington Post, written by
Alanna Vaginos, the title states “Cosby Juror Believes Constand’s ‘Bare
Midriff’ Meant She Was Asking For It.” In looking at the article, the juror
never mentioned that Constand was “asking for it.” What it appears is that the
Huffington Post is trying to take part of what the juror said and make it sound
like he’s victim blaming.
The media in our world today does not deal with the truth.
As a system, it is more satisfied in dealing with sensationalism because people
are not interested in the truth as they are more fixated on the lie. Never mind
what the truth is, the lie is where the story is. Controversy draws attention.
In closing, we must decide whether we want to truly be a
nation that lives up to its creed and principles that we have set in writing.
We have given the government powers under laws like the Patriot Act that
intrude on our 4th Amendment rights. Do we truly want our judicial
system guided speculation, gossip and heresay because it makes for a good story
in the New York Times or should it be guided by facts and evidence that points
us to the truth? You be the judge.
