Paul Clark

Mill Hall

Have you been swamped with the Vote No mailers? Haven’t we all? I decided to take a deeper dive into some of the claims, the most notorious would be the Cosby release.

You remember, “America’s Favorite Dad” was sentenced to do time for sexual assault charges. Then, a couple of years and a solid appeal later, he is released. My wife was FURIOUS! So was the entire “me too” movement! She didn’t realize all of the legal ramifications, and neither did I, but I figured now was as good a time as any to check it out.

Turns out, the original DA in the case, Bruce Castor, made a non-prosecution agreement. He didn’t feel that the case would be successful without a confession from Cosby, because the allegations were so old and there was, at the time, only one victim. So Castor made a deal with Cosby that any testimony he provided could not be used against him to result in criminal charges. The victim at the time was seeking civil damages from Cosby and by making this deal, Cosby could not plead the fifth in the civil trial, which resulted in the victim receiving 3.4 million dollars.

Another prosecutor reinstated the criminal charges, tagging them onto another victim’s accusations. In that trial, Cosby’s incriminating statements were used against him and he was sentenced to jail time. His attorney appealed to the State Supreme Court because the overwhelming evidence came from admissions Cosby had originally made under the agreement he would not be prosecuted. And guess what? Legally, his original agreement had to stand, resulting in his release. It’s not the outcome the victims and the public would prefer, but it’s the law. If we don’t like it, it’s incumbent on us to have our legislatures change the law. And, keep in mind, it was a 6-1 vote to grant the appeal.

In the case of the Commonwealth vs. Prinkey, they said the Supreme Court sided with a predator who attempted to molest a 7-year-old. What the Supreme Court actually did was side with the existing law and REAFFIRMED that Prinkey was sentenced illegally because it was imposed in retaliation for an earlier appeal. Laws in this country are NOT retaliatory. They are designed to be just and fair. AGAIN, if we don’t like the laws, the Legislature must change them.

Jeffrey Yass is a New Yorker, who has made his BILLIONS as a professional gambler and his business utilizes gaming in training. He is financing all of these NO campaigns. Ask yourself why a billionaire from another state doesn’t want to abide by the laws of this one? And in case you didn’t know, the PA Supreme Court already has term limits. Judges cannot serve beyond the age of 75. Voting NO will not get you term limits. That’s a whole different process. Look it up! Don’t just follow blindly!

And, P.S., look it up to see what famous politician went on to hire Bruce Castor as an attorney. Not exactly a move an innocent person would make.

Law-abiding people will be voting YES next Tuesday to retain judges that uphold the law.