Bill Cosby has been denied parole by the Pennsylvania Parole Board, which cited a number of reasons for its decision, according to a letter from the board obtained by CNN.
The letter, which indicated the board’s decision was rendered on May 11, said Cosby must “participate in and complete additional institutional programs.”
The board cited Cosby’s “failure to develop a parole release plan” and a “negative recommendation by the Department of Corrections” as factors that contributed to the decision.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Actor Bill Cosby won’t be paroled this year after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison in Pennsylvania.
The 83-year-old Cosby has long said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence. This is the first year he was eligible for parole under the three- to 10-year sentence handed down after his 2018 conviction.
Cosby meanwhile hopes the state Supreme Court, which heard his appeal in December, will reverse his conviction in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. Cosby’s lawyers say the trial was flawed because five other accusers were allowed to testify to support the sexual assault complaint filed by a former Temple University basketball team manager. They also say the judge should not have let the jury hear Cosby’s damaging testimony from accuser Andrea Constand’s related civil suit.
He maintains his innocence.
