Cosby is set to be a free man after the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court issued an opinion to vacate his conviction.
Amy Lutz (FOX43), Cale Ahearn (FOX43), Travis Pittman
10:30 AM MDT June 30, 2021
10:43 AM MDT June 30, 2021
PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Editor’s note: The above video is from May 2021.
Bill Cosby will walk out of a Pennsylvania state prison a free man, after the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court issued an opinion to vacate his conviction.
The former comedian had appealed to the court in December when his lawyers argued that Cosby’s entire life was put on trial that caused him to suffer unquantifiable prejudice.
The Supreme Court agreed to review two aspects of the case that Cosby’s lawyers challenged. The first involved the judge’s decision to let prosecutors call five other accusers. The other examined Cosby’s argument that he had an agreement with a former prosecutor that he’d never be charged.
The 83-year-old has been in SCI Phoenix, a state prison outside of Philadelphia, after a jury convicted him in 2018 of three aggravated indecent assault counts—and the court deemed the elderly inmate a ‘sexually violent predator’ for posing an ‘imminent safety risk to women.’
A once-beloved comedian long known as “America’s Dad,” Cosby became the first celebrity convicted of sexual misconduct in the #MeToo era when he was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.
Last year, Cosby’s parole was denied for reasons including a negative recommendation from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and Cosby’s refusal to participate in a treatment program for “sex offenders and violence prevention,” Deadline reports.
Cosby’s representative, Andrew Wyatt, reportedly told USA TODAY that the decision was not a surprise because the parole board said Cosby would be denied if he did not participate in the SVP, or Sexually Violent Predator, courses.
Download the FOX43 app here.
