Bill Cosby's Crimes

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Mr. Bill Cosby a popular actor, known for his role on ‘The Cosby Show’ and a popular comedian, was first arrested in 2015 on charges of aggravated indecent assault against Ms. Andrea Constand. His case ended in a hung jury in 2017 but he was recently facing a re-trial, which lead to him being found guilty in April, 2018 and he is now under house arrest, awaiting sentencing ( Bowley, 2018). Crimes such as sexual assault are considered consensus crimes and they are viewed as the most serious form of deviance due to the united public agreement that these acts are morally intolerable, injurious, and subject to harsh penalties (Little, 2014).The type of crime committed will greatly affect the type of punishment that will result.
Functionalism
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Mr. Cosby is a well-known man globally and had strong ties to his community through his work, charities and investments. These ties however, did not prevent him from committing the crime of sexually assault against his victim Ms. Constand. This begs us to question if the attachment, commitment and involvement social bonds described by Hirsch (1969), really serves its purpose of discouraging deviant and criminal behavior. We must then examine what other factors can possibly cause popular persons like Mr. Cosby to go against social norms and laws to commit such crimes, whose only reward is of the pleasure and excitement of the crime itself. It is possible Mr. Cosby felt that he can commit these crimes and not be persecuted because he shares the views of the conflict theorists. Which is the view that the class system and inequality will allow him to get away with his crimes because the rich and powerful has a greater influence than the working class over who will be viewed and labelled as a criminal (Little, 2014). However this idea proved to be wrong in this circumstance, because although Mr. …show more content…

(2018). Bill Cosby criminal case: A timeline from accusation to verdict. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/arts/television/bill- cosby- sexual-assault-allegations-timeline.html
Little, W., McGivern, R. (2014). Introduction to sociology. 1st Canadian Edition. Houston, Texas, and Vancouver, British Columbia: OpenStax College, Rice University, & B.C. Open Textbook Project
Miller, J. (2015). What Happened When Bill Cosby Was Finally Arrested on Sexual Assault and Drugging Charges. Vanity Fair. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/12/bill-cosby-arrest-andrea-constand-

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