Bill Cosby's Crimes

589 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Crime and socioeconomics

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
Functionalists …show more content…

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-

Show More
Related

  • Deviant Behavior: A Study on Steven Avery's Case

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Crime and deviant behavior surprisingly helps increase “social activity” among various different people within a society. Therefore, crime and deviant behavior brings “people together in a common posture of anger and indignation…when these people come together to express their outrage over the offense…they develop a tighter sense of solidarity than existed earlier” (Erikson 4). For example, in the Steven Avery case, the people of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, all had very strong feelings of Steven Avery and his family, and as a result they were seen as deviant people in their own hometown. Those feelings towards him, and his family, would be a critical factor when he was accused of the horrendous crime (Making). Based on their feelings towards the Avery family, the society in which he lived developed the overall concept of us versus them (Erikson 11). Therefore, another concept that arises as a result of crime and deviant behavior is public temper, which is described as a “mutual group feeling” (Erikson

    Read More

  • The Rich Get Richer The Poor Get Prison-Tara Gray Case Study

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. Reiman explains that the idea that white collar crime is taken less seriously is because it protects the elite classes. For example, if the public believes they should fear the poor more than the rich, the rich can commit more crimes and go unnoticed because the population is focused on the poor Reiman explains that that the way crime is explained does not exactly fit what we think crime is. He explains that the notion that white-collar crime being harmless is based on the idea that white collar crimes do not end in injury or death is false because more people’s lives are put at risk than “lower class” crimes. Reinman thinks it is necessary to re- educate the public on white-collar crimes for economic

    Read More

  • Andrea Kennesy Yates

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Schmalleger, Frank. Criminology: A Brief Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Prentice Hall., 2011.

    Read More

  • Socially Constructed Stereotypes in All in the Family, The Jefferson’s and The Cosby Show.

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Palmer, Gareth. ““The Cosby Show”—an ideologically based analysis.” Critical Survey. 6:2. 1994. Pg. 188-194. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Clarence Darrow Crime And Criminals Summary

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    People may say that they have broken the law, thus they have committed a crime. Yet, Clarence’s definition of crime differs from the general assumption of society. Our population views crime as something a criminal would commit, whether it be theft, murder, or what have you. It can be demonstrated that circumstance has shaped what we call law and what is viewed as crime. If a person breaks into your house and robs you of something they do not have themselves, it is considered breaking and entering, and can be punishable by jail. However, if Mr. Rockefeller raises oil prices in the winter because he knows people will have to pay it or freeze, it is considered smart business; even though it is clearly theft. Both parties are committing ‘crime’, but society has deemed Mr. Rockefeller, the person who is a thief, respectable; while the person who is breaking and entering, a criminal, solely because it is all they know to do to

    Read More

  • Ethan Couch's Argument

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    In recent times, it has become very evident that wealth plays a major factor in the judicial system. There have been many cases that display the wealthy being given less of a punishment than the lower classes. In one particular case a teen, Ethan Couch, was driving under the influence after stealing beer from Walmart and he swerved off road, killing four pedestrians. The judge sentenced him to 10 years’ probation; this outraged many people because the usual punishment is a life sentence. Mr. Couch claims he suffers from “Affluenza”, which is a psychological problem that is caused by children being extremely privileged. Ethan Couch should not have received probation because of his family’s status, because he was driving under the influence,

    Read More

  • CSI Effect

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dioso-Villa, Simon A. Cole & Rachel. "INVESTIGATING THE ‘CSI EFFECT’ EFFECT:MEDIA AND LITIGATION CRISIS IN CRIMINAL LAW." Stanford Law Review 61.6 (2009): 1335-1374.

    Read More

  • The Cosby Show Essay

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Starring Bill Cosby, the show was centered on an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York, and were known as the Huxtable family with that being their last name. The members of the family included the father Cliff (Bill), mother Clair, five children (four daughters and one son); Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy. This show is viewed as a comedy but does a very well done job integrating the struggles and issues of the mid-1980s to early 1990s. A few good examples of issues represented are race/ethnicity, education/intelligence, and generation.

    Read More

  • Crime is a contested and complex concept. Discuss

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    White, R., and Perrone, S. (2009) Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice. Melbourne: Oxford University [Chapter 2 ‘Crime and the Media’]

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Criminal Deviance

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    The TV show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, often addresses criminal deviance such as rape and murder. In the episode, “Scorched Earth,” an African immigrant maid becomes a rape victim of a rich, Italian prime minister named Distascio (Wolf). This episode highlights how status can affect perception of certain deviant behaviors. Additionally, it addresses contemporary America’s values toward types of deviant acts, and sanctions that go along with them.

    Read More

  • Robert Merton’s Theory of Anomie

    1914 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rather than observing the individual criminal as being subhuman, he questioned societies influence on the individual. In his 1968 book, Merton argued that ‘it no longer appears to be so obvious that man is set against ... ... middle of paper ... ... Britain is of a much lower percentage in comparison to that of America thus Merton’s argument of the poor most likely to be criminal will not always fit the British society. It is therefore impractical to generalise Merton’s theory and force-fit it to all contemporary societies.

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice Myths and Facts

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    Blumberg, M, Kappeler, V, and Potter, G. 1993, The Mythology and Crime and Criminal Justice, Prospect Heights, I11.: Waveland Press.

    Read More

  • Public Criminology

    3279 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ruggiero, V. (2012). How Public is Public Criminology? Crime Media Culture , 8 (2), 151-160.

    Read More

  • Critical Criminology

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Drawing from tenets of Marxist theory, critical criminology believe that crime results from the mode of production by capitalist and the economic structures they have created. Social classes have been divided into two: those whose income is secured by property ownership; and those whose income is secured by their labor. The resultant class structure influences the opportunities of an individual to succeed in life and his propensity to engage in crime. Although it encompasses the macro-economic factors that are rarely included in micro-economic analysis of crime, it does not substitute those macro factors, like unemployment, to micro factors, like being jobless. However, it combines the macro and micro factors in analyzing how micro factors of crime are integrated into the macro structures.

    Read More

  • Doubt And Certainty In The Case Of Bill Cosby

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Louis Menand, author of Pragmatism, questions “what makes us decide to do one thing when we might do another thing instead?” Similarly, what makes humans so certain or doubtful about what is right in varying situations? Menand comes to the conclusion that what people morally weigh the most will help them decide. In the case of Bill Cosby and sexual abuse, does each individual weigh their certainties heavier than their doubts, or vice-versa? It depends on what kind of moral message they want to portray.

    Read More

More about Bill Cosby's Crimes

Open Document