Fury as Bill Cosby's rep says it's 'a beautiful day for women… and justice for black America' - but his accuser warns decision to overturn his sex assault conviction will discourage others from coming forward
The woman whose testimony secured the 2018 conviction of Bill Cosby for sexual assault has blasted the decision to overturn his decision after the star's spokesman hailed it as 'a beautiful day for women… and justice for black America'.
Andrea Constand, who pressed charges following a 2004 attack, said she feared it would have a chilling effect on other victims.
'Today's majority decision regarding Bill Cosby is not only disappointing but of concern in that it may discourage those who seek justice for sexual assault in the criminal justice system from reporting or participating in the prosecution of the assailant or may force a victim to choose between filing either a criminal or civil action,' she said.
She said that she was unaware of the 2005 agreement between Cosby and the then-district attorney, Bruce Castor, which ultimately resulted in his 2018 conviction being reversed on Wednesday.
'We were not consulted or asked our thoughts by Mr Castor concerning any agreements concerning immunity or anything, and we were not made aware if there were any such discussions,' Constand said.
Cosby's spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, described it as 'a beautiful day for women,' and Cosby himself on Wednesday evening thanked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for their shock decision to free him, only three years into his 10 year sentence for sexual assault.
The 83-year-old flashed a peace sign to news crews on Wednesday as he arrived home after being released from prison in Pennsylvania, hours after the court overturned his sexual assault conviction.
Wyatt, described his release as 'justice for black America' - enraging many of Cosby's accusers.
Wyatt told The New York Post: 'It's a beautiful day, not just for Bill Cosby because this is about all Americans, making sure that they get justice.
'And you know, this was a fight for justice. And that's what I fight for every day – justice and vindication for people done wrong by the judicial system.'
More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, but Wyatt continued: 'It's a beautiful day, and it's a beautiful day, also for women.
'Millions of supporters and millions of women have gotten in touch with us and said 'We know these women made up these allegations. We know it's not true,' he alleged.
'But the beauty of today, another great thing, they can no longer call him a sexual violent predator. No longer call him a rapist. No longer call him these horrible things. He's now Bill Cosby, an American and national treasure.'
Cosby was freed on the grounds that a former prosecutor promised him that he wouldn't be charged in 2005.
That saw Cosby speak openly about his relationship with Constand for a civil suit, whose depositions were later used by another prosecutor to file criminal charges.
The disgraced comedian tweeted: 'I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence.
'Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law. #BillCosby'
The decision to free Cosby - once known as 'America's Dad' - has 'shocked and disgusted' his accusers.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahman described the ruling as 'mind-blowing', adding: 'This is extremely rare. This is unprecedented.'
Former Congresswoman Katie Hill tweeted: 'On today's episode of How the Justice System Fails Victims: Bill Cosby is released on a technicality.'
Cosby himself called in to local Philadelphia radio station WDAS-FM, where he said the audience needed 'clarity, they need guidance.'
'Because this is not just a black thing,' Cosby said.
'This is for all the people who have been imprisoned wrongfully regardless of race, color, or creed. Because I met them in there. People who talked about what happened and what they did. And I know there are many liars out there.'
Cosby, dressed all in white, hugs his supporters outside his home in Pennsylvania. His ever-loyal spokesman Andrew Wyatt is seen standing behind, with a black shirt and glasses
Cosby flashes a peace sign outside his home in Pennsylvania, shortly after his release
Cosby is pictured on the phone to his spokesman Andrew Wyatt, in an undated call
Wyatt, his spokesman, said: 'We want to thank the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. This is what we have been fighting for and this is justice and justice for black America.'
Cosby did not speak to the media outside his Elkins Park home, but instead gestured to show his relief
Cosby was jailed in 2018 for sexually assaulting Constand, who had reported her claims to the police in 2005.
The murky legal explanation for why Cosby was released hinges on a statement made in 2005 by former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who decided not to charge Cosby because he thought there wasn't enough corroborating evidence to back up Constand's claims.
Instead, he thought she'd get a better chance at 'seeking justice' in a civil lawsuit so he dropped the criminal case. It meant that Cosby had to give evidence in the civil lawsuit - he wasn't allowed to invoke his fifth amendment right - and as a result, he made a comment about how he used Quaaludes to get women to have sex with him.
Ten years later, eight years after Castor had left office, a different prosecutor charged Cosby, using the deposition remarks as evidence. By then, dozens more women had come forward publicly to accuse him of sexual assault but none of their claims could be prosecuted because they fell outside Pennsylvania's statute of limitations. Some of them were allowed to testify at Cosby's trial - which he said was unfair and tainted the jury.
Cosby maintains that Castor gave him an 'immunity deal' and that that's the only reason he gave the remarks in the deposition.
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed with him.
They said Cosby was robbed of his fifth amendment right not to speak and gave depositions in which he incriminated himself ensuring Constand a better settlement pay-out.
Angry protesters hold placards on the road outside Cosby's house on Wednesday afternoon as the entertainer was freed
Cosby's release has been met with widespread anger and disappointment. Protesters lined the road outside his home on Wednesday
A fan of Cosby shows support for the disgraced star outside his home
Castor's successor's decision to pursue a criminal prosecution - despite Castor's earlier assurances - was on Wednesday characterized by the Supreme Court as a 'coercive bait and switch.'
'The moment that Cosby was charged criminally, he was harmed: all that he had forfeited earlier, and the consequences of that forfeiture in the civil case, were for naught. This was an unconstitutional 'coercive bait-and-switch,'' they wrote.
Bill Cosby outside his home in Pennsylvania on Wednesday after being released from prison. He did not speak but nodded and smiled as his legal team celebrated the decision
Cosby with his legal team standing outside his mansion in Pennsylvania on Wednesday
Bill Cosby, 83, flashes a peace sign at news crews as he arrives home on Wednesday after having his sexual assault conviction overturned by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court in a shock decision, two years into his 10 year sentence
Bill Cosby, in this white vehicle, is released from SCI Phoenix in Pennsylvania on Wednesday. The Supreme Court filed a 79-page ruling granting his release and banning him from future prosecution
This is how Pennsylvania's Supreme Court voted to free Cosby or keep him jailed. Justice David Wecht (top left) wrote the decision and the court's three female justices, Debra Todd (bottom right), Christine Donohue (second top left) and Sallie Updyke Mundy (top right) agreed with him. Justices Max Baer (bottom left), Thomas G. Saylor (bottom middle) and Kevin M. Dougherty (top, second from right) dissented
In his decision, Justice David Wecht said that the only remedy was to free Cosby and to stop him from ever being prosecuted again.
'He must be discharged, and any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred,' Wecht wrote.
Three other justices agreed and three dissented, tipping the scales in Cosby's favor by one vote.
'All three women on the court agreed that Cosby should be freed. The three who dissented are all men.
Over the next ten years, multiple women come forward in the press and civil lawsuits to accuse him but it wasn't until 2015 that he was charged.
He was charged two weeks before the statute of limitations would have rendered Constand's claims expired.
All of the other claims are too old to be prosecuted.
In 2018, he was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to between three and ten years behind bars.
Constand testified at his trial along with five others who spoke about their own allegations against him.
Those women were Chelan Lasha, Janice Baker Kinney, Janice Dickinson, Lise-Lotte Lublin and Heidi Thomas.
When Cosby, 83, was sentenced for his crimes against Constand, the other accusers seized it as their own justice too.
The disgraced comedian always fought his conviction, despite admitting in a deposition that he used Quaaludes on women, without their knowledge, with the hope of later having sex with them.
He was sentenced to between three and ten years but he vowed to serve the full ten because anything less would have required him to express remorse.
Now, lawyers from other trials may seize on the Cosby decision to undo their client's convictions.
One recent notable case where prosecutors used other witnesses to describe a pattern of behavior rather than testify about a specific crime was that of Harvey Weinstein.
He fought to exclude other women's testimony from his trial.
Another is the actor Cuba Gooding Jr., who was charged for a handful of crimes after women allegedly involved in multiple other incidents testified to prosecutors.
The Supreme Court stayed away from the issue in its ruling.
Justice Wecht wrote: 'As we discuss in more detail below, at Cosby's trial, the trial court permitted the Commonwealth to call five witnesses who testified that Cosby had engaged in similar sexually abusive patterns with each of them.
'We granted allowance of appeal here as well to consider the admissibility of that prior bad act evidence.
'However, because our decision on the Castor declination issue disposes of this appeal, we do not address the claim.'
At the end of the decision, he wrote: 'Accordingly, we do not address Cosby's other issue.'
The law allows the testimony only in limited cases, including to show a crime pattern so specific it serves to identify the perpetrator.
In Cosby's case, one of his appellate lawyers said prosecutors put on vague evidence about the uncharged conduct, including Cosby´s own recollections in his deposition about giving women alcohol or Quaaludes before sexual encounters.
'The presumption of innocence just didn´t exist for him,' Jennifer Bonjean, the lawyer, argued to the court in December.
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.
'There was a built-in level of trust because of his status in the entertainment industry and because he held himself out as a public moralist,' Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Jappe, of suburban Montgomery County, argued to the justices.
Cosby had invited Constand to an estate he owns in Pennsylvania the night she said he drugged and sexually assaulted her.
Cosby's wife Camille always stood by him, insisting he was innocent.
In her most recent interview, after the state Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal, she said: 'My first reaction is hopefulness, possibilities.
'The state's highest court has said: 'Wait a minute. There are some problems here. They can be considered for an appeal.'
'I'm very, very pleased.'
His accusers said they were 'shocked' and 'disgusted' by the decision.
Constand released a joint statement with her attorneys on Wednesday, asserting that she was never privy to any kind of prosecutorial deal with Cosby in 2005.
'Today's majority decision regarding Bill Cosby is not only disappointing but of concern in that it may discourage those who seek justice for sexual assault in the criminal justice system from reporting or participating in the prosecution of the assailant or may force a victim to choose between filing either a criminal or civil action,' the statement said.
Lisa Bloom, who represents three of his victims, tweeted that they were 'disgusted' by the decision - which amounts to a legal technicality rather than him being innocent.
Andrea Constand is the woman Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting at his Pennsylvania home in 2008. Her allegations against Cosby were the only ones that could be prosecuted because they were just inside of the state's statute of limitations. She has not reacted to his release
'I'm absolutely in shock…My stomach is lurching and I am deeply distressed about the injustice of the whole thing,' Victoria Valentino said.
No comments: