Bill Cosby was released from prison Wednesday after Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction, saying the disgraced actor’s due process rights were violated.
The stunning decision in the case of the man once known as “America’s Dad” reverses the first high-profile celebrity criminal trial of the #MeToo era.
The panel of Pennsylvania State Supreme Court judges said in their opinion that the former Montgomery County district attorney’s decision to not prosecute Cosby in 2005 in return for his deposition in a civil case was ultimately used against him at trial, the judges said.
“In light of these circumstances, the subsequent decision by successor D.A.s to prosecute Cosby violated Cosby’s due process rights,” the judges wrote.
Cosby was sentenced in 2018 to 3 to 10 years in a state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004.
Cosby, 83, in a white t-shirt, made a brief public appearance outside his Pennsylvania home Wednesday afternoon but did not speak to reporters.
Hours earlier, Cosby was released from a prison outside of Philadelphia and picked up by his press representative. Cosby served three years in prison. His attorney Brian Perry said the comedian and his legal team were headed to his Pennsylvania home to “celebrate.”
Source: CNN
