Rabat – On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Bill Cosby’s 10-year sexual assault prison sentence. The court found Cosby guilty in 2018 on charges of drugging and molestation of Andrea Constand, a former basketball player.
An additional 63 women provided statements against Cosby for similar crimes of sexual assault but the court only sentenced Cosby for the crimes commited against Constand. Five former victims testified against Cosby in 2015.
Cosby, the 83-year-old Hollywood actor who played the role of Cliff Huxtable, was once recognized as “America’s dad”. The actor worked in Hollywood for upwards of 60-years and he was regarded as a legend in the industry.
Sexual assault allegations against the former actor and comedian date back to the 1960s.
Andrea Constand initially reported Cosby’s sexual assault in 2005 but authorities found it difficult to prosecute Cosby in a criminal case. The then-Montgomery County District Attorney, Bruce Castor, suggested that Constand should consider pursuing a civil lawsuit against Cosby instead.
A civil court proceeding would not permit Cosby to invoke his Fifth Amendment right, which would grant Cosby immunity from self-incrimination.
However, in 2015, a new District Attorney reopened the criminal case against Cosby. Castor warned that Cosby’s attorneys obtained a transactional immunity from the District Attorney under a previous agreement between them.
Castor promised Cosby that he could speak freely about the alleged crimes he commited with Andrea Constand without any legal repercussions.
The trial court noted that Castor “did not seek such permission, and instead acted of his own volition.”
“The immunity offer was defective, and thus invalid,” added the trial court.
Due to the complex intricacies of the US justice system, the court argued that Cosby did not stand a fair trial and therefore, the court would overturn his conviction.
Mixed emotions
After being released, Cosby tweeted “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence.”
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence.<br>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. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BillCosby?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BillCosby</a> <a href=”https://t.co/bxELvJWDe5″>pic.twitter.com/bxELvJWDe5</a></p>— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) <a href=”https://twitter.com/BillCosby/status/1410359498162769926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Former victims of sexual assault have been vocal on the social media platform, expressing disgust with Cosby and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Rosanna Arquette, one of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault victims, tweeted, “This is sickening. My heart is with my sister survivors. We have work to do.”
Other A-list celebrities have taken a different stance, praising the justice system for upholding justice and freeing justice.
“FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” tweeted Phylicia Rashad, Cosby’s former co-star from The Cosby Show.
#MeToo activists and other feminist movements viewed Cosby’s sentencing for the drugging and molestation of Andrea Constand as a big win for female, sexual assault survivors. Many have criticized the US’ justice system, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court specifically, for Cosby’s premature release.
