However, the jury chose not to convict Copney of the armed robbery itself. Bennett attributed this to Amabile’s success in convincing the jury that Copney and his associates may not have succeeded in taking any marijuana from Cosby.
“I think that attorney Amabile did a fantastic job as a defense attorney,” Bennett said. “He cast some doubt on whether that marijuana was picked up.”
After hearing victim impact statements from the Cosby family, presiding judge John T. Lu quickly sentenced Copney to life in prison without parole, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction.
Lu noted before the verdict was read that for a first-degree murder conviction, the defendant is entitled to "a full and automatic appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court. This is not the last word, what happens here today."
In addition to the upcoming appeal in Copney’s case and the pending sentencing hearings for Aquino and Jiggetts, former Harvard student Brittany J. Smith may still stand trial for her involvement in the killing.
Smith, Copney’s girlfriend who allegedly hid the gun after the crime and helped the killers flee to New York, has been charged with accessory after the fact of murder and five other counts.
—Staff writer Julie M. Zauzmer can be reached at jzauzmer@college.harvard.edu.