Bill Cosby will walk out of state prison a free man after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided to vacate his conviction.
Cosby’s attorney successfully argued that Cosby suffered “unquantifiable prejudice” in the case that sent the 83-year-old disgraced comedian to prison for three to 10 years on aggravated indecent assault convictions.
According to Fox43, Cosby’s attorney asked the court to look at two aspects of the case. First, and perhaps most importantly, the court looked at the part where Cosby had an agreement that he would never be charged. Secondly, the court also examined the issue where the judge allowed prosecutors to call five other accusers to bolster their case against Cosby.
In other words, the Supreme Court ruled that Cosby should never have been put on trial.
Instead, the once-beloved “America’s Dad” and creator of the monumental sitcom “The Cosby Show” was prosecuted, convicted and subsequently shipped to SCI Phoenix prison outside Philadelphia, where he has remained for the past two years.
Moreover, Cosby was denied parole in 2020 when he refused to admit his guilt, exemplify remorse for his crimes and declined to take a sexual offender course while in prison. Now, Cosby will not have to do either of those things.
Cosby’s current predicament began in 2005 when former Temple University employee Andrea Constand accused him of raping her in his home. The prosecutor at the time, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr., investigated the case but ultimately decided not to charge Cosby. Moreover, Castor agreed to keep the case sealed, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
However, Castor’s successor decided to reopen the sealed case in 2015, just days before the statute of limitations was going to run out. This action was prompted when dozens of women suddenly claimed Cosby sexually assaulted them after comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby a rapist during a stage performance.
