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Bill Cosby to be Released From Prison After Court Overturns His Sexual Assault Conviction
In a shocking turn of events, Bill Cosby will be released from prison. The news comes after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged and tried for sexual assault, In Touch can confirm.
A judge filed the decision on Wednesday, June 30, after ruling that Cosby, 83, was denied due process, according to documents obtained by In Touch.
The former TV star was convicted in 2018 for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in Philadelphia in 2004. He has served more than two years of his three-to-ten-year prison sentence stemming from his conviction.
Cosby’s attorney, Brian Perry, tells In Touch, “We have always believed that Mr. Cosby was not treated fairly. And based on how the arguments went with the Supreme Court, there was no question in our minds that conviction was going to be reversed. Fortunately, we were right.”
He continued, “Basically what they said is it just wasn’t fair and the system has to be fair. So, keep in mind, it wasn’t reversed. It was vacated and he was discharged, which means case closed. He’s discharged, so we’re heading over to the prison now and hopefully he’ll be getting out shortly,” Perry said of his client, Cosby.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court explained in their ruling that prior Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor declined to press charges against the former Cosby Show star. As a result, one of the victims, Andrea Constand, was able to move forward with her civil case against Cosby.
The court wrote that during her civil case, Cosby had to go through depositions without the benefit of the Fifth Amendment privilege of self-incrimination. “Unable to invoke any right not to testify in the civil proceedings, Cosby relied upon the district attorney’s declination and proceeded to provide four sworn depositions,” the court explained in its decision.
During those depositions, Cosby made several incriminating statements. The court determined that the resulting statements were then used by D.A. Castor’s successors against Cosby at his criminal trial in 2004, where he was found guilty of sexually assaulting Constand. She revealed in her victim impact statement before Cosby’s sentencing that “Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy, young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others.”
Cosby should be a free man by the end of the day. Perry told In Touch, “We are headed over there (to the state prison) now. He should be out in the next couple of hours. Hopefully we can get him out soon.” He added that Cosby’s wife, Camille Cobsy, is “relieved and happy” about the news that her husband of 57 years will be coming home.
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