Pennsylvania: Comedian Bill Cosby was released from prison after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled to overturn his 2018 conviction on sexual assault charges.
Cosby was sentenced in 2018 to 10 years in state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years ago.
A panel of Pennsylvania State Supreme Court judges ruled that there was a “vast” violation of Cosby’s due process rights when he was criminally charged and convicted, a decade after a previous prosecutor had declined to prosecute him in order to urge him to sit for a civil deposition instead – which was ultimately used against him in his criminal trial. The panel of judges say in their opinion released Wednesday that when former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor investigated allegations of drugging and rape against Cosby by a woman named Andrea Constand in 2005, Castor felt that “he would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Cosby drugged and raped Constand.”
The court’s decision seemed likely to end the Pennsylvania case, legal experts said, and while more than 50 women across the nation have accused Cosby of sexual assault and misconduct, statutes of limitations in their cases makes further prosecutions unlikely.
Cosby thanked his supporters and tweeted a photo of himself Wednesday night, saying he never changed his stance or story. “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence,” Cosby tweeted. “Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law.”
I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence.
Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law. #BillCosby pic.twitter.com/bxELvJWDe5— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 30, 2021
Comments are closed.