America’s greatest comedian Bill Cosby proclaimed his innocence in a tweet on Wednesday, after stepping out of jail in Pennsylvania.
“I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence,” the TV star wrote
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,” Cosby, 83, added.
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 pic.twitter.com/bxELvJWDe5— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 30, 2021
Cosby had spent the past two and a half years behind bars after being convicted in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
In a dramatic decision on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his 10 year sentence.
The court found that a previous prosecutor had made a deal with Cosby not to charge him in the case.
The court said the previous prosecutor’s decision not to charge Cosby led to his engagement in a civil lawsuit against him, giving testimony which was key in his later conviction.
The circumstances before us here are rare, if not entirely unique,” the court said.
The justices said Cosby had suffered “far greater” due to the testimonies given at his two trials and rebuffed a suggestion that a third criminal trial be conducted. Instead, they wrote that overturning his conviction would be the only action that would suffice.
“A contrary result would be patently untenable. It would violate long-cherished principles of fundamental fairness. It would be antithetical to, and corrosive of, the integrity and functionality of the criminal justice system that we strive to maintain.”
“For these reasons, Cosby’s convictions and judgment of sentence are vacated, and he is discharged.”
