A representative for actor Bill Cosby has requested the star be released from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cosby’s rep pointed at high blood pressure and previous surgeries in a plea to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, according to a report published Monday by Fox News.
A spokesman for Bill Cosby says the imprisoned comedian and actor wouldn’t survive if he contracts coronavirus behind bars. https://t.co/EA8N9CxyUf
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 19, 2020
“Around the Fall of 2019, Actor & Comedian Bill Cosby was forced to have two major surgeries in-order to sustain his life (prevent him from having a stroke and/or heart attack),” the rep said in a statement to the outlet. “During a visit to the infirmary at SCI-Phoenix for high blood pressure issues, Mr. Cosby was informed that the carotid arteries on the right and left side of his neck had 90% blockage due to plaque build-up (the carotid arteries are the major blood vessels in the neck that supply blood to the brain, neck and face). Those surgeries were done separately and they were successful. Mr. Cosby now takes medication for high blood pressure and he is 100% blind from glaucoma.” (RELATED: Bill Cosby Maintains His Innocence In First Interview From Prison)
Cosby was sentenced to three to ten years in prison after being convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
“Mr. Cosby was not given a life sentence nor a death sentence, so we are requesting that Gov. Wolf use his gubernatorial powers to show compassion to another human being, Bill Cosby,” the statement continued. “It has been well documented in the media and by the Secretary of Prisons, John Wetzel, that SCI-Phoenix has been badly infected with the Covid-19 virus.”