The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case brought by prosecutors in Pennsylvania, effectively allowing a state court decision that had overturned actor Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction to stand. (WSJ)
Cosby had been convicted of sexual assault in 2018 and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but he was released in June 2021 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the ruling in a stunning decision. The Supreme Court’s rejection keeps the reversal in place. (Variety)
Last year, a divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Cosby should not have faced charges, because a previous district attorney had promised in 2005 not to prosecute him. That court said that Cosby believed he was operating under an immunity agreement offered by a prosecutor when the entertainer provided testimony that was damaging and led to his conviction. (WaPo)
During a 2006 deposition, a seemingly free-wheeling Cosby gave long, stream-of-consciousness answers to questions from accuser Andrea Constand’s lawyers. He detailed his sexual involvement with a string of young women, a few still in their teens, over the years. And he recalled giving several of them, including Constand, alcohol or pills while he remained sober. (NPR)