Bill Cosby Freed as Court Overturns His Sex Assault Conviction

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    Bill Cosby Freed as Court Overturns His Sex Assault Conviction

    Bill Cosby had his conviction for sexual assault overturned by a Pennsylvania appeals court on Wednesday and was freed from prison, a dramatic reversal in a case had represented the first high-profile sexual assault trial to unfold in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement.

    I, for one, thought it was about time.

    In their 79-page opinion, the judges wrote that a “non-prosecution agreement” that had been struck with a previous prosecutor meant that Mr. Cosby should not have been charged in the case, and that he should be discharged. They barred a retrial.

    In 2005, Mr. Cosby was investigated in the case of Ms. Constand, and a former district attorney of Montgomery County had given Mr. Cosby his assurance that he would not be charged in the case. The former district attorney, Bruce Castor Jr., has testified that while there was insufficient evidence to bring a criminal prosecution, he had given Mr. Cosby the assurance to encourage him to testify in a subsequent civil case brought by Ms. Constand.

    Exactly.

    In that testimony, Mr. Cosby acknowledged giving quaaludes to women he was pursuing for sex — evidence that played a key part in his trial after Mr. Castor’s successors reopened the case and charged Mr. Cosby in December 2015. That was just days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired in the case…

    It was inadmissible evidence, as the plea deal had ruled it out.

    “In light of these circumstances, the subsequent decision by successor D. A.s to prosecute Cosby violated Cosby’s due process rights,” the appeals ruling said. “No other conclusion comports with the principles of due process and fundamental fairness to which all aspects of our criminal justice system must adhere.”

    Which is part of what they were saying all along.  The successor DA had no legal right to use that sealed testimony as it was protected.

    Phylicia Rashad, who appeared as Mr. Cosby’s wife in “The Cosby Show,” praised the decision on Twitter. “FINALLY!!!!” Ms. Rashad, who was recently named the dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts, wrote on Twitter. “A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!”

    I agree.  He should never had been convicted nor jailed.

    And as the dissenting judges wrote:

    …found that though Mr. Cosby’s due process rights had been violated when he relied on Mr. Castor’s promise and testified in the civil case, the remedy should not have been barring further prosecution but throwing out the evidence the prosecution gained from Mr. Cosby’s testimony.

    And without that evidence:

    The former district attorney, Bruce Castor Jr., has testified that while there was insufficient evidence to bring a criminal prosecution…

    Insufficient evidence!

    There was no case.

    Without the immunity deal, there was nothing.

    Only with the immunity deal, did they get the admission of the use of drugs.  Which they could not use, otherwise I believe there would have been no interview, and nothing that would amount to a trial.

     

    And for those that remember, Cosby, just before all this happened, criticized the establishment… could this all have been them trying to get back at him?  I still think so.

    #230620

     

    #230632
    Vknid
    Moderator

      Is he guilty of being a creep? I really am not sure. What I do know is this. To hold the expectation that any human is perfect and without fault is ridiculous. God himself allows forgiveness because he knows we are weak as hell (play on words intentional). However, the religion of the woke mob which does have sin (and even original sin) does not contain forgiveness.

      #230642

      It’s like this, if there’s an agreement of non prosecution, then this trial should not have happened. It’s that simple.

      #230672
      Mustangride1
      Moderator

        If we look at the “TIME PERIOD” these events were said to occur in combine with the culture those people lived “Alcohol an drugs” he should never have been put on trial let alone convicted. Now some will say don’t make excuses for sexual assault. I am not! I am saying that the lifestyle of that crowd was the reason behind the actions.

        How many of you, if your honest, could say “Ya there might be people out there who could say I assaulted them even though it was not, if they thought they could gain something by doing so”. If you become “Popular or Wealthy Person” you could be the target of Blackmailed or Targeted by a “Movement”. Heck it could even be just a revenge motive, or envy. We have seen that as well.

        Now there are MANY who without doubt were predators. In Bills case though the way he fought it and did so even after being sent to prison, I am thinking his encounters were as I described. I think (not seeing it all yet) the Trial judge was an Activist Judge who allowed things in that should never been admitted, an kept out the arrangement he could not be prosecuted.

        People should always be INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. I understand the sensitivity of the subject, but if an assault happens then a Police Report should be made. No report then it is He said, she said and should never see a courtroom without other evidence. Even the word of MANY people without evidence should be inadmissible. We need to get back to Evidence base Law an not “Believe them” or Guilty until proven Innocent. Hearsay an He said She said use to seldom see a courtroom. Now its (X) Is a Celebrity and we are going to prosecute, truth be damned.

        #231050

        And another is wanting the courts to do this exact same thing.

        Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers cite Cosby case in bid to have sex trafficking charges dropped

        Former Jeffrey Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell should have several counts in the indictment against her dropped because she is in a “similar situation” to Bill Cosby, her attorneys said in a court filing late Friday.

        They argue that Maxwell, 59, who is alleged to have recruited teenage girls from the mid-1990s to 2004 for Epstein to sexually abuse, was covered by a nonprosecution agreement at the time she was charged.

        OH, the wonderful realities of plead deals and non-prosecution agreements!

        “The government is trying to renege on its agreement and prosecute Ms. Maxwell over 25 years later for the exact same offenses for which she was granted immunity in the NPA,” the filing says, adding that she is in a “similar situation” to Cosby.

        What would happen if the DA’s office and the prosecutor’s can no long make plead deals or NPA’s?

        How many cases would have to be dropped because of lack of evidence?

        Alot more than those they could if they had did have plead deals and NPA’s to use.

         

        Well, you can’t have it both ways.

        One can plead the fifth (against self discrimination) and you get no evidence, or you can enter a binding plead deal/NPA and get evidence you can use to get others with.

        Now to wait and see what happens here with her case and the NPA.

         

        #231078

        The twitter mob got to Phylicia Rashad.

        That tweet was hit with backlash, leading Rashad — who played Claire Huxtable for eight seasons of “The Cosby Show” — to delete it and issue another. “I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward. My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth. Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing,” she wrote.

        But that was not enough.

        Despite walking back her initial tweet, the New York Post reported that outraged Howard students are demanding she be fired.

        Oh how tolerant.

         

        #231085
        Mustangride1
        Moderator

          Honestly, when it comes to Plea Deals, I have always been against them unless it is to get a bigger fish and then there still must be payment to society for a crime. These sweetheart deals should never be aloud.

          But hey im one for mandatory sentencing, which means “This is the minimum you can get for a crime with no possibility of parole until that time is served. And for Capitol crimes reinstatement of the death penalty, no more life in prison on our dime. Someone commits a crime of that nature society needs to be done with them. THE DEATH Penalty is a major deterrent to crime.

          And as someone always ask, those crimes would be (Murder, Rape, Child Molestation, Kidnapping and any Felony where a weapon was used in its commission)

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