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Anna Burns-Francis: Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction overturned by court - Early Edition with Ryan Bridge
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Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction.
In a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as "America's Dad," the state Supreme court ruled that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby.
Cosby, 83, has served nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era.
Bill Cosby's Twitter account released this photo of the comedian inside jail earlier in his sentence. Photo / Twitter
The former "Cosby Show" star was arrested in 2015, when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence — the comic's damaging deposition testimony in a lawsuit brought by Constand — brought charges against him days before the 12-year statute of limitations ran out.
But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor's promise not to charge Cosby. There was no evidence that promise was ever put in writing.
Justice David Wecht, writing for a split court, said Cosby had relied on the former district attorney's decision not to charge him when the comedian gave his potentially incriminating testimony in Constand's civil case.
The court called Cosby's arrest "an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was forgone for more than a decade."
A Cosby spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Nor did a Steele representative, Constand or her lawyer.
The justices said that overturning the conviction, and barring any further prosecution, "is the only remedy that comports with society's reasonable expectations of its elected prosecutors and our criminal justice system."
"Mr. Cosby should never have been prosecuted for these offenses,' said lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, who argued Cosby's appeal. "District attorneys can't change it up simply because of their political motivation." She said Cosby remains in excellent health, despite being legally blind.
A Steele representative did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Nor did Constand or her lawyer.
"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" the actor's "Cosby Show" co-star Phylicia Rashad tweeted.
FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected! pic.twitter.com/NrGUdwr23c— Phylicia Rashad (@PhyliciaRashad) June 30, 2021
"I am furious to hear this news," actor Amber Tamblyn, a founder of Time's Up, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault, said in a Twitter post. "I personally know women who this man drugged and raped while unconscious. Shame on the court and this decision."
Four judges formed the majority that ruled in Cosby's favour, while three others dissented in whole or in part.
Peter Goldberger, a suburban Philadelphia lawyer with an expertise in criminal appeals, said prosecutors could ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for reargument or reconsideration, but it would be a very long shot.
"I can't imagine that with such a lengthy opinion, with a thoughtful concurring opinion and a thoughtful dissenting opinion, that you could honestly say they made a simple mistake that would change their minds if they point it out to them," Goldberger said.
Even though Cosby was charged only with the assault on Constand, the trial judge allowed five other accusers to testify that they, too, were similarly victimised by Cosby in the 1980s. Prosecutors called them as witnesses to establish what they said was a pattern of criminal behavior on Cosby's part.
The Pennsylvania Supreme...
In a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as "America's Dad," the state Supreme court ruled that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby.
Cosby, 83, has served nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era.
Bill Cosby's Twitter account released this photo of the comedian inside jail earlier in his sentence. Photo / Twitter
The former "Cosby Show" star was arrested in 2015, when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence — the comic's damaging deposition testimony in a lawsuit brought by Constand — brought charges against him days before the 12-year statute of limitations ran out.
But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor's promise not to charge Cosby. There was no evidence that promise was ever put in writing.
Justice David Wecht, writing for a split court, said Cosby had relied on the former district attorney's decision not to charge him when the comedian gave his potentially incriminating testimony in Constand's civil case.
The court called Cosby's arrest "an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was forgone for more than a decade."
A Cosby spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Nor did a Steele representative, Constand or her lawyer.
The justices said that overturning the conviction, and barring any further prosecution, "is the only remedy that comports with society's reasonable expectations of its elected prosecutors and our criminal justice system."
"Mr. Cosby should never have been prosecuted for these offenses,' said lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, who argued Cosby's appeal. "District attorneys can't change it up simply because of their political motivation." She said Cosby remains in excellent health, despite being legally blind.
A Steele representative did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Nor did Constand or her lawyer.
"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" the actor's "Cosby Show" co-star Phylicia Rashad tweeted.
FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected! pic.twitter.com/NrGUdwr23c— Phylicia Rashad (@PhyliciaRashad) June 30, 2021
"I am furious to hear this news," actor Amber Tamblyn, a founder of Time's Up, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault, said in a Twitter post. "I personally know women who this man drugged and raped while unconscious. Shame on the court and this decision."
Four judges formed the majority that ruled in Cosby's favour, while three others dissented in whole or in part.
Peter Goldberger, a suburban Philadelphia lawyer with an expertise in criminal appeals, said prosecutors could ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for reargument or reconsideration, but it would be a very long shot.
"I can't imagine that with such a lengthy opinion, with a thoughtful concurring opinion and a thoughtful dissenting opinion, that you could honestly say they made a simple mistake that would change their minds if they point it out to them," Goldberger said.
Even though Cosby was charged only with the assault on Constand, the trial judge allowed five other accusers to testify that they, too, were similarly victimised by Cosby in the 1980s. Prosecutors called them as witnesses to establish what they said was a pattern of criminal behavior on Cosby's part.
The Pennsylvania Supreme...
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