For Cosby, solo cell as prison life begins
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby spent his first night behind bars Tuesday, marking the start of his three to 10 year prison sentence for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
After leaving the courthouse in Norristown, Pa., in handcuffs Tuesday afternoon, Cosby was transported to the Montgomery County Jail in Lower Providence Township. He stayed there briefly for booking, and by 6 p.m. was on his way to the State Correctional Institution Phoenix in Collegeville.
Cosby will remain at SCI Phoenix for the duration of his prison term, the Department of Corrections said yesterday morning.
He was booked into Phoenix and was initially given a single cell with no cellmate “adjacent to the infirmary,” because he is a highprofile inmate, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Amy Worden.
Prison officials said they hope Cosby will eventually join the general population of inmates at Phoenix, which has nearly 4,000 beds. Cosby will meet with staff from the prison’s medical, psychology, and records departments, as part of standard practice to assess new inmates, Worden said. That evaluation process can take several weeks.
“We are taking all of the necessary precautions to ensure Mr. Cosby’s safety and general welfare in our institution,” said Corrections Secretary John Wetzel. “The long-term goal is for him to be placed in the general population to receive the programming required during his incarceration.”
Because Cosby was designated as a “sexually violent predator,” he must attend sex offender counseling sessions while in prison. Judge Steven T. O’Neill said Cosby is “in need of correctional treatment” that can be provided in prisons.
Cosby will be allowed phone calls, but visits in the first 10 days will be limited to lawyers and religious advisers. After that, Worden said, Cosby can submit a list of as many as 50 people to be approved as visitors.
Meals vary depending on the day, according to the Department of Corrections summer and fall 2018 menu. Inmates can choose between a meat or vegetarian entree for lunches and dinners. One dinner, for example, is roast pork with gravy, whipped potatoes, greens, bread and applesauce. Dessert is sometimes pudding; Cosby appeared on Jell-O Pudding commercials for years, but the prison menu does not specify the brand of pudding served.