Bill Cosby Avoids Conviction, Mistrial Declared

Mistrial Declared In Bill Cosby Case

On Saturday (June 17th), Bill Cosby avoided a conviction, as a jury declared itself deadlocked on charges he drugged and molested a woman years ago. The judge presiding over the trial declared a mistrial following six days of deliberations.

Excoriated by the defense for charging Cosby in the first place, District Attorney Kevin Steele vowed to put him on trial a second time, saying accuser Andrea Constand supported the decision. Steele stated,

She has shown such courage through this, and we are in awe of what she has done. She’s entitled to a verdict in this case.

Constand told jurors that in 2004, Cosby gave her pills that made her woozy and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop. The encounter was the only one to result in criminal charges.

The jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on any of the three counts against the comedian, ending the trial without a verdict.

Mistrial Declared In Bill Cosby Case

Bill Cosby

Under questioning from her lawyer, Cosby acknowledged that he had obtained several prescriptions for quaaludes in the 1970s for the purpose of offering the powerful sedative to women he wanted to have sex with.

Cosby also said he gave Constand three half-tablets of the cold and allergy medicine Benadryl to help her relax before what he insisted was a consensual sexual encounter at his home. Prosecutors suggested he drugged her with something stronger.

The jurors clearly struggled with their verdict, telling the judge on Thursday they were at impasse. Judge Steven O’Neill instructed them to keep working toward a unanimous decision. On Saturday, they came back and told O’Neill they were hopelessly deadlocked.

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Authored by: TJB Writer