Pennsylvania’s supreme court has on Wednesday overturned sexual assault conviction against Bill Cosby, paving way for one of America’s popular comedian to walk free from prison.
The state Supreme Court said a previous prosecutor’s decision not to charge 83-year-old Cosby opened the door for him to speak freely in a civil lawsuit against him — and that testimony was key in the comic’s conviction in criminal court, NBC reports.
The 83-year-old Cosby, who was once beloved as “America’s Dad,” was serving a 3-to-10-year sentence at a prison outside Philadelphia for drugging and sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee, Andrea Constand at his Pennsylvania home in 2004.
He was charged in late 2015, when a prosecutor armed with newly unsealed evidence — Cosby’s damaging deposition from her lawsuit — arrested him days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired.
The trial judge had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosby’s first trial, when the jury deadlocked.
However, he then allowed five other accusers to testify at the retrial about their experiences with Cosby in the 1980s.
During this, Cosby vowed to serve all 10 years rather than acknowledge any remorse over the 2004 encounter with accuser.
Cosby was the first celebrity tried and convicted in #MeToo era, so the reversal could make prosecutors wary of calling other accusers in similar cases.
Me Too movement is a social movement against sexual abuse and sexual harassment where people publicize allegations of sex crimes.
However, according to the high court on Wednesday;
When an unconditional charging decision is made publicly and with the intent to induce action and reliance by the defendant, and when the defendant does so to his detriment (and in some instances upon the advice of counsel), denying the defendant the benefit of that decision is an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was foregone for more than a decade.
For these reasons, Cosby’s convictions and judgment of sentence are vacated, and he is discharged.
Read Also: Comedian, Bill Cosby Denied Parole After Refusing To Participate In ‘Sex Offender’ Therapy Program
The new development comes few months after Cosby was denied parole after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison.
He has long said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence.
This is the first year he was eligible for parole under the three- to 10-year sentence handed down after his 2018 conviction.
The disgraced comedian wasn’t eligible for release until September 25 at the earliest, but the board starts interviewing candidates three to five months in advance and spoke to Cosby by video conference on May 7, board spokeswoman, Laura Treaster told NewYork Daily News.
Prosecutors said Cosby repeatedly used his fame and “family man” persona to manipulate young women, holding himself out as a mentor before betraying them.
Cosby, a groundbreaking Black actor who grew up in public housing in Philadelphia, made a fortune estimated at $400 million during his 50 years in the entertainment industry. His trademark clean comedy and homespun wisdom fueled popular TV shows, books and standup acts.
He fell from favor in his later years as he lectured the Black community about family values, but was attempting a comeback when he was arrested.
Cosby had invited Constand to an estate he owns in Pennsylvania the night she said he drugged and sexually assaulted her.
Constand, a former professional basketball player who worked at his alma mater, went to police a year later. The other accusers knew Cosby through the entertainment industry but did not go to police.
