SCOTUS rejects bid to revive Bill Cosby's prosecution

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rejected a bid from prosecutors to review the overturning of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction.

During the summer of 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the 2018 sexual assault conviction of the famed actor.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also barred future prosecutions on the charges upon which Cosby was previously convicted.

In 2018, Cosby — who is currently 84-years old — was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but the conviction was overturned due to prosecutorial violation of the comedian’s due process rights, CNN reported.

Jennifer Bonjean, a lawyer representing Cosby, praised SCOTUS’ decision to uphold the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision.

She said, “Under the unique facts of the case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded that [the former district attorney] had made an unconditional promise of non-prosecution, and that Cosby had relied on that promise to his detriment, namely foregoing his Fifth Amendment guarantees and testifying at four days of depositions, and that as a matter of fundamental fairness, the promise should be enforced.”

In 2005, when Andrea Constand alleged that Cosby had “drugged and sexually molested” her, prosecutors stuck a deal with Cosby’s legal team that he would not face criminal charges so long as he sat for a deposition in a civil case filed by Constand.

Over a decade later, prosecutors said they “did not feel bound by this decision, and decided to prosecute Cosby notwithstanding that prior undertaking.”

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court subsequently found that the previous deal offered to Cosby removed the possibility of prosecution “for all time.”

At the time of this ruling, Cosby’s publicist praised the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices “for following the rules of law and protecting the Constitutional Rights of ALL American Citizens.”

The publicist said, “Mr. Cosby’s Constitutional Rights were a ‘reprehensible bait and switch’ by Kevin Steele, Judge Steve T. O’Neill and their cohorts. This is truly a victory for Mr. Cosby but it shows that cheating will never get you far in life and the corruption that lies within Montgomery County District’s Attorney Office has been brought to the center stage of the world.”

SCOTUS opted to uphold the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision by declining prosecutors’ request to hear their case and reinstate Cosby’s conviction, Fox News reported.

Cosby originally had vowed to serve the entirety of his sentence and maintain his innocence.

In his first interview from prison, Cosby said, “When I come up for parole, they’re not going to hear me say that I have remorse. I was there. I don’t care what group of people come along and talk about this when they weren’t there. They don’t know.”