Black entertainment icon Bill Cosby is set to be released from prison after Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court overturned his controversial sexual assault conviction moments ago. Cosby, who is now 83 and reportedly in bad health, served more than two years of what could have been a 10 year prison sentence in a facility near Philadelphia.
Charges were filed against Cosby for alleged drugging and molestation of a woman in 2004. However, today the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that an agreement with a previous prosecutor – Bruce Castor, who recently served as President Donald Trump’s impeachment attorney – prevented him from being charged with the crime.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Bill Cosby’s conviction after finding an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented Cosby from being charged in the case.
The previous prosecutor? Bruce Castor aka Trump’s second impeachment defense attorney: pic.twitter.com/IuWrlUc0tF
— The Recount (@therecount) June 30, 2021
Cosby was charged in “late 2015 – just days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired,” notes the New York Post. Cosby was convicted in 2018 after his first trial ended in a hung jury. Many have noted that Cosby never showed remorse for the alleged crime, and instead pledged to serve full sentence in prison.
The Twitter account for Cosby has remained active while the entertainer once dubbed “America’s Dad” was incarcerated. As recently as May of this year, the account posted a statement declaring that “They are lying to you again” and noting that “Contrary to the reports you have been reading in the media, Mr. Cosby was never charged nor convicted of rape. Mr. Cosby was convicted of aggravated indecent assault, for which he maintains his innocence. The media and its machine have repeatedly and blatantly misled and misrepresented the facts, continuing in their attempt to manipulate public opinion against Mr. Cosby.
Attention: America. They are lying to you again. Here are the facts: Contrary to the reports that you have been reading in the media, Mr. Cosby was never charged nor convicted of rape. Mr. Cosby was convicted of aggravated indecent assault, for which he maintains his innocence. pic.twitter.com/XvGw0CZcsA
— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) May 28, 2021
In 2015, the New York Post ran an opinion articled titled, “Bill Cosby is being crucified for being conservative” that made the case that the prosecution of the icon was provoked by his then-recent remarks that favored social conservatism. Comparing the media’s treatment of Cosby to pedophile filmmaker Roman Polanski, columnist Andrea Peyser wrote, “The reason for this double standard seems plain to me. Cosby was thrown into the social and professional wilderness after he violated a commandment rigidly enforced by numbskull leftists in the entertainment industrial complex: Thou shalt not be conservative.” She added, “Cosby, a Democrat, has expressed views considered heretical by famous folks, particularly those of color. He’s preached that African-American males need to man up and stop blaming others for their failures, care for their children and clean up gibberish-laden speech.”
Having spent decades in entertainment, comedy, and public speaking, Cosby is perhaps best known for The Cosby Show, which ran from 1984-1992. Cosby also starred in The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons from 1969-1971.
