Does America still believe in 'innocent until proven guilty'? That was a big question on the radio show as the guys took a hard look at a series of rape allegations pointed at legendary actor and comedian Bill Cosby. In fact, one of the accusers, Barbara Bowman, has penned an op-ed for The Washington Post detailing her account of what happened between her and Cosby. While there have been multiple allegations lodged against the actor over the years, he has not been found guilty in a court of law. Is it right to try him in the court of public opinion without knowing all of the facts?
Over the years, there have been 13 women who have accused Bill Cosby of rape, and he settled one case out of court in 2006.
The allegations have received renewed attention this month after comedian Hannibal Burress called out Cosby for hypocrisy during a show in Philadelphia. Burress took issue with Cosby's criticism of people in the black community for wearing baggy clothes and cursing on stage, and said he hated Cosby's "smuggest old black man public persona" when he has been accused of sexual assault so many times.
After Burress's routine made headlines, accuser Barbara Bowman wrote:
I told her how Cosby won my trust as a 17-year-old aspiring actress in 1985, brainwashed me into viewing him as a father figure, and then assaulted me multiple times. In one case, I blacked out after having dinner and one glass of wine at his New York City brownstone, where he had offered to mentor me and discuss the entertainment industry. When I came to, I was in my panties and a man’s t-shirt, and Cosby was looming over me. I’m certain now that he drugged and raped me. But as a teenager, I tried to convince myself I had imagined it.
Stu said, "When you are trying to determine someone's guilt, you have a teenager who says I think I imagined it and now she says I'm pretty sure it happened. Even in a court of public opinion, I don't know how you [convict based on] that. I don't know this person, I don't know what they have gone through. She may very well be telling the truth, and I hope she's just lying but if she's telling the truth, our legal system, though, is designed to deal with at the time."
Glenn, Pat, and Stu agreed that it's nearly impossible to prove that a sexual assault took place decades after it may have happened.
"I don't want to try him in the court of public opinion. I think this guy deserves enough respect to not be tried in the court of public opinion," Glenn said. "You have an accusation, take him to court. Let him fight it in court. I just don't think we should judge people. We don't know what's going on. We have no idea what's going on."
Front page image courtesy of the AP