Bill Cosby to get first serving of Jell-O in jail Thursday; will have access to TV, email

Anika Reed USA TODAY

Published 8:04 AM EDT Sep 27, 2018

Bill Cosby spent his first night as Inmate No. NN7687  at a state correctional facility outside Philadelphia Tuesday. He also posed for a new mugshot in his first set of prison blues.

Cosby, 81, was immediately taken into custody Tuesday after a Montgomery County judge handed down a three-to-10-year state-prison sentence for his 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand.

He will be permanently housed at the SCI Phoenix prison in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, according to the state's Department of Corrections website.

As a new arrival, Cosby will be assessed by prison medical staff, psychologists and other staff, and be allowed phone calls, visits and time for exercise.

He will also be "able to purchase his own television, radio and tablet so that he will be able to receive email, music and books," Press Secretary for Corrections Amy Worden told Fox News. "These are possessions that inmates are allowed to have.”

As for Cosby's first meal in jail? Baked meatballs and rice, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, Lisa Durand, spokesperson for SCI Phoenix told CNN. Lunch on Thursday reportedly includes a half-cup of Jell-O, the dessert Cosby touted in ads for more than 25 years; Saturday's menu has chocolate pudding.

The disgraced "Cosby Show" alum is being housed in "a single cell in a unit adjacent to the infirmary," according to a press release from SCI Phoenix, a practically new maximum-security facility that opened its doors in July. (Cosby's is one of 3,830 beds at the 164-acre prison.)

The prison’s long-term goal is to place Cosby in the general population, officials said.

“We are taking all of the necessary precautions to ensure Mr. Cosby’s safety and general welfare in our institution,” Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said in a statement.

However, O.J. Simpson, a former convict himself, told TMZ that he had expected Cosby to be placed in protective custody because he is a target.

Simpson, who was released from a Nevada prison last September after serving nine years for a botched robbery, said, "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?" 

He added, "The problem is the nature of the crime. Rapists are frowned upon in prison."

SCI Phoenix offers multiple treatment and therapy programs, including one for sex offenders.

Although unlikely, due to Cosby's age and legal blindness, he could take one of the vocational classes offered by the prison, ranging from barbering school and custodial maintenance to carpentry and restaurant professions.

TMZ speculated on what Cosby's job in prison might be, including "maintenance (inside or outside), kitchen work, assisting infirm inmates or working in garment factories."

The convicted felon will owe $43,611.83 in court costs, according to court documents, which he was ordered to pay as part of his sentence.

He must also surrender his passport and pay a monthly offender supervision fee, according to court documents.

A member of the prosecution team from Cosby's trials says Andrea Constand, the comedian's chief accuser, told her she was happy with his sentence.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden said Wednesday on NBC's "Today" that Constand gave her strength as she went through the difficult process of prosecuting Cosby.

Feden says Constand's "courage and strength was enough for me to say, 'Let's keep going.' "

Feden also said that as she watched Cosby during the proceedings, she didn't "even know that it was clear to him that this was judgment day."

In a statement issued after the sentence was handed down, Cosby's wife, Camille, claimed that a phone recording played at trial was doctored.

On ABC's "Good Morning America," Feden's fellow prosecutor Stewart Ryan called it a "last-ditch effort to cook up an appeal issue."

Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, Cosby is still a star. On Hollywood Boulevard, at least. 

According to CNN, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has no plans to remove Cosby's star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame, despite calls to do so and several vandalism incidents. 

"The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historical record of entertainment figures past and present. Once installed, the stars become part of the historic fabric of the Walk of Fame, a 'designated historic cultural landmark,' and are intended to be permanent," the chamber said. 

Cosby's star was installed in 1977. 

Contributing: Cydney Henderson; The Associated Press

More: Bill Cosby's legacy: From America's dad to 'America's rapist'

More: 'This is a very important day': Stars, advocates react to Bill Cosby's prison sentence

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