Yesterday's overturning of Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction and his same-day release was and continues to be upsetting to many people.
In a case that touches on so many hot buttons - race, class, the difficulty of prosecuting sexual assault cases, the conviction of one of the country's most popular entertainers was one of the early chapters of the Me Too movement.
His release has opened wounds that not only haven't healed, but have festered with the proliferation of sexual assault charges against other prominent men. The deluge of these cases, while welcome in the pursuit of long-delayed and denied justice to sexual assault victims, also serves to reinforce trauma.
Sexual assault victims struggle to free themselves from the weight of their experiences, and Cosby's release may be seen by many as just another example of a serial assaulter being protected from justice by the legal justice system.
The only comfort, cold as it may be, is that Bill Cosby will not resume business as usual.
Given his admissions of drugging women, despite his claims of consent, he is seen for what he is - a sexual predator.
He is no longer Alexander "Scotty" Scott - the humorous but lethal secret agent in "I-Spy."
He's not "America's Dad," Cliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show anymore.
He's isn't the beloved pitchman for Jello Pudding, Coca-Cola, and all those other products that he gleefully sold on television commercials and billboards.
He's not the standup comedian who used to guest host The Tonight Show.
He's Bill Cosby - Serial Rapist.
Any show or movie including him would be protested.
Any product that would dare to use him as a spokesman would be boycotted.
Any attempt to rehabilitate his image, whether it's a comedy tour or any other similar endeavor, would be lambasted, and just as bad if not worse, ignored.
These facts will not free his victims from their personal hells.
They won't end the need for therapy, rehabilitation, and the other means of recovery that sexual assault requires of its victims.
They won't allay fear, doubt, worry, and a thousand other thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
But unfortunately, barring a civil action or some other carriage of justice, they will be stand as a poor substitute for jail time.
Bill Cosby is free from physical prison, but the unseen penitentiary his actions have built will hold him fast for the rest of his life.