Cosby’s lawyers want juror ousted over ‘ guilty’ comment
Stockholm: Three prominent members of the Swedish Academy resigned on Friday in protest at close ties between the institution, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, and a high- profile man accused of sexual assault.
The Academy has been reeling since it was revealed as part of the # MeToo campaign in November that several members, as well as members’ wives and daughters, had allegedly been assaulted by the well- known figure at the centre of the scandal.
Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter newspaper broke the news, publishing the testimony of 18 women claiming to have been assaulted or raped by one of the most influential figures in Stockholm’s cultural scene. The Academy has since cut all ties with the man, who has not been publicly identified. But his identity is generally known by the public as he is a high- profile person in cultural circles. The alleged sexual assaults occurred between 1996 and 2017, according to Dagens Nyheter.
One of the resigning members Peter Englund said the scandal had deeply divided the Swedish literary world. “Over time, a crack that appeared has continued to grow,” he said in a letter to the Aftonbladet newspaper, adding that the Academy’s permanent secretary Sara Danius had been subject to “unjustified” criticism.
The fallout continued on Friday as King Carl XVI Gustaf was informed of developments as the director general of the Nobel Foundation Lars Heikensten expressed concern over a “serious and difficult situation”.
Members Klas Ostergren and Kjell Espmark decided to step down after the group’s normal meeting on Thursday at a Stockholm restaurant. “It is with great sadness that after 36 years working at the Academy, including 17 as chairman of the Nobel Committee, I feel forced to make this decision,” Espmark said in a letter to the media. “When prominent academy members put friendship ahead of responsibility and integrity, I can no longer participate in its work”.
Ostergren condemned “a betrayal of the founder and his great protector”, referring to the Academy’s founder, Swedish King Gustav III, and inventor Alfred Nobel, who left some of his fortune to the institution.
The three men are lifetime members and cannot technically resign, but there is nothing forcing Norristown, Pennsylvania : A man selected as a juror in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial thinks the comedian is guilty and wants the case to be over, according to a prospective juror who said the man offered his opinion as they chatted during jury selection. Cosby’s lawyers seized on the alleged comment and asked on Friday that the juror be removed immediately from the retrial, which begins on Monday.
They attached an affidavit from the prospective juror who talked to the man as an exhibit. He is said to have stated: “I just think he’s guilty, so we can all be done and get out of here.” If the juror isn’t removed, the defence
them to attend meetings. Of 18 members, 5 are no longer active after two lawyers said, judge Steven O’Neill should question him to determine if he can be fair and impartial, or if he lied during the questioning that led to his selection.
They also want the other jurors questioned to see if they were influenced by the man’s alleged comment. Prosecutors had no comment on the jurors’ alleged conversation. Court officials didn’t immediately respond to messages about it.
The prospective juror said she didn’t know if the man was joking or serious. She said in her affidavit that some people being considered for the jury were sitting close enough to overhear the conversation. women, Kerstin Ekman and Lotta Lotass, went on leave for years.