Bill Cosby released: Why was his sexual assault conviction overturned by a US court?

On June 30, Bill Cosby was released from prison after serving more than two years of a three to 10-year sentence as Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction. The court said that the former actor, also known as “America’s Dad” due process rights were violated. The stunning decision in Cosby’s case marks a reversal of the first high-profile celebrity criminal trial of the #MeToo era. In a 79-page written finding, the judges wrote, “In light of these circumstances, the subsequent decision by successor D.A.s to prosecute Cosby violated Cosby's due process rights.”

Why was Bill Cosby released?

According to the opinion of the panel of Pennsylvania State Supreme Court judges, a former Montgomery County district attorney's decision to not prosecute Cosby in 2005 in return for his deposition in a civil case was ultimately used against him at trial. Cosby was sentenced in 2018 to 3-10 years in state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. As per BBC report, in complex reasoning, the judges cited a written agreement that Cosby and the former prosecutor Bruce Castor stating that the former comedian will not be charged if he testified in Costand’s civil lawsuit. 

Cosby was released on Wednesday after being found guilty on three counts of felony indecent assault against Constand who met him in 2002 while working at Temple University in Philadelphia. She later testified at trial how she became “frozen” after Cosby drugged and molested her in 2004 after perceiving him as a mentor figure. Constand had first revealed the assault to police in 2005 but Castor did not press criminal charges. After that, She then sued the former actor for sexual battery and defamation that was followed by a settlement with a confidentiality agreement in 2006. 

Eventually, in 2014 and 2015, dozens of women came forward with similar allegations against Cosby of being drugged and assaulted by him. As per the report, even though local authorities knew that statute of limitation rules meant they could not pursue most of the accusations, they still reopened the case involving Constand. Cosby was then charged just days before the 12-year limit on her allegations was set to expire. 

However, in Wednesday’s ruling, the judges found that testimonies of the accusers unrelated to the case had derailed the trial. Reportedly, in the finding released on June 30, the judges wrote, “There is only one remedy that can completely restore Cosby to the status quo ante. He must be discharged, and any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred.”

"We do not dispute that this remedy is both severe and rare. But it is warranted here,” the judges added.

 IMAGE: AP