Bill Cosby has been in prison for about a week or so by now, and sources say he’s getting by as best he can, with daily phone calls to his wife and a guide to help him around, TMZ is reporting.
The 81-year-old isn’t in General Population yet – and once he’s there, things may change drastically, probably for the worse. For now, he’s in a sort of orientation period, which means he’s spending much of his time chatting it up with the guards and other prison employees. Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, says that Cosby has told him that the guards are very respectful and polite to him.
As for his meals, he either takes them in his cell or in a room with few or no other inmates. Meanwhile, he’s got a guide to lead him around the building, the grounds, and the library since Cosby is legally blind. It’s unclear if his guide is a prison employee or another inmate.
And of course, he’s allowed to call his wife Camille Cosby daily. The phone calls are limited, and Wyatt says that Cosby and Camille mostly just talk about Bill’s plans to appeal his sentence. Cosby won’t be allowed actual visitors for another week.
Bill Cosby sued for unpaid legal bills of $282,000 https://t.co/RgyLp3u0fX pic.twitter.com/MsZu9iZ2J0
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 29, 2018
Though his life in prison is, for now anyway, relatively easy and cushy, once Cosby reaches General Population, all bets are off.
As a prisoner, Cosby represents a problem for the prison staff at SCI Phoenix, the Pennsylvania maximum-security prison where Cosby will spend the next three to 10 years, pending appeals. He’s famous, wealthy, and elderly. Those three things could make him a target for other prisoners, meaning that officials may have to go to great lengths to keep him safe.
This is the prison where Bill Cosby is being held https://t.co/qHbJmVociK pic.twitter.com/MC6W2SKa9e
— CNN (@CNN) October 1, 2018
There’s also the matter of the nature of his crime. As reported by the Inquisitr , O.J. Simpson, another celebrity who has done hard time, says that Cosby’s status as a sex offender may also get him targeted by other inmates. That’s because, as Simpson explains, sex offenders are “frowned upon” in prison.
“I’m sure there will be guys protecting him but they’re gonna have to put him in protective custody… because it takes one nut, ya know?”
For these reasons, Simpson suggests that officials either put Cosby into protective custody or, more humanely, sentence him to house arrest rather than maximum security.
“With his health and his age and the nature of the crime, there’s not a warden in this country wants the responsibility of a Bill Cosby.”
Whether or not Bill Cosby will spend the remainder of his sentence at SCI Phoenix remains unclear. Due to his advanced age, he may yet wind up being transferred to a prison hospital.