Bill Cosby remains a free man after Supreme Court decision

On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with Bill Cosby by upholding a Pennsylvania court’s decision to toss out the iconic comedian’s conviction on sex assault charges against Andrea Constand in 2018 because of due process rights violations.

The high court, without comment, declined to review a decision out of Pennsylvania that released Cosby from prison in June 2021 over the word of a former prosecutor who said he had made a secret promise to Cosby’s lawyers that their client would never be charged.

A spokesperson for Cosby, Andrew Wyatt, expressed “sincere gratitude to the justices” on behalf of Cosby and his family for the announcement and said he was the victim of “a reprehensible bait and switch” by the district attorney and judge in the case.

The 84-year-old Cosby, according to Wyatt, remains in good health despite being legally blind. “Many people are calling for projects for him,” and he is considering a final standup tour, Wyatt said.

District Attorney Kevin Steele in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County said that asking the high court to revive the case “was the right thing to do,” even if it was a long shot. He thanked accuser Andrea Constand for her courage and wished her well.

Constand and her lawyers called the decision an “unfortunate outcome for everyone, especially sexual assault survivors.” They noted that the existence of the agreement or promise was “vigorously disputed in the (court) habeas proceedings, and determined by the trial judge not to exist.”

Cosby was arrested in the Constand case on Dec. 30, 2015, days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired. She accused him of drugging and assaulting her at his home in January 2004.

He was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. He served nearly three years before Pennsylvania’s high court ordered his release.