The 'Cosby Show' alum is set to be released from behind bars after judges at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the previous ruling that declared him guilty of rape.
- July 1, 2021
AceShowbiz - Judges at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court have overturned Bill Cosby's rape conviction and allowed him to walk free from jail.
"The Cosby Show" star was found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting Temple University staff member Andrea Constand in 2004, and he was sentenced to three-to-10 years behind bars.
However, the disgraced comedian has repeatedly protested his innocence and has been fighting the conviction through the courts, filing his latest appeal in Pennsylvania Supreme Court last August (20).
Cosby's lawyers had argued his second trial was unfair because it allowed five accusers to give "decades-old" testimony that prejudiced the jury against him.
They also took issue with the presentation of a deposition he had given in an old civil suit, regarding his "use of quaaludes and his sexual behaviour," as evidence during the trial, because the actor believed the testimony was immune from prosecution, following a prior prosecutor's decision not to file charges.
On Wednesday (30Jun21), his case was heard by officials, and they ruled in his favour, barring any retrial.
Cosby's first trial had ended in a hung jury.
Constand wasn't the only woman to come forward with allegations of sexual assault against the fallen star - more than 50 other women accused him of misconduct and worse.
Bill Cosby has spent roughly three years at Pennsylvania's State Correctional Institution in Phoenix.
When the pandemic began in U.S. last year, he asked to be released from jail and put under house arrest, citing Covid-19 concerns. However, his request was denied by authorities.
