Bill Cosby Freed from Prison after Court Overturns Conviction

American comedian¹ and actor Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after a court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

Cosby was released from a Pennsylvania prison on Wednesday after the state's Supreme² Court issued its ruling. He returned to his home near Philadelphia a short time later.

The 83-year-old Cosby had served nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Constand was Temple University's women's basketball administrator³ at the time of the assault.

The state's highest court ruled that Cosby was unfairly prosecuted⁵ because a previous prosecutor⁶, Bruce Castor, promised in 2005 that he would not be charged criminally over Constand's accusations⁷. There was no evidence that the agreement was put in writing. Four Supreme Court justices formed the majority that ruled in Cosby's favor. Three others offered dissenting⁹ opinions.

Cosby was charged criminally by Castor's successor, Kevin Steele, in 2015. Steele claimed that he was not required to observe the agreement made by Castor. But the Supreme Court disagreed. It found that Cosby depended on Castor's promise when he agreed to testify in a civil case brought by Constand.

As part of that testimony¹⁰, Cosby admitted offering substances to women he wanted to have sex with. But he said all the encounters were consensual.

The civil case ended with Cosby settling with Constand for more than $3 million. But when Cosby's testimony in the civil case was made public, Steele had Cosby arrested and brought criminal charges against him.

In total, more than 60 women have come forward to say that Cosby sexually violated them and many accused him of unknowingly drugging them.

Cosby was only charged in Constand's case because many of the incidents happened long ago and the statute¹¹ of limitations had already run out. A statute of limitations is a law that prevents a suspect from being tried after a specific amount of time has passed.

The charges in Constand's case were filed just days before the statute of limitations was about to run out.

Cosby appeared with his legal team outside his home on Wednesday, but did not speak. One of his lawyers, Jennifer Bonjean, said the comedian had "served three years of an unjust sentence."

Cosby smiled and moved his head when asked if he was happy to be home. Later, he posted a statement to his Twitter account, thanking his supporters and saying, "I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence¹²."

In a statement, Constand and her lawyers condemned¹³ the ruling. They, along with sexual assault victims and their supporters, expressed fear that the decision could discourage other victims from coming forward. "We urge all victims to have their voices heard," the statement said.

Cosby broke barriers in the 1960s as the first black actor to star in an American television network show. He went on to become hugely famous as the wise and understanding Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show. The program was one of the most-watched in America during its run from 1984 to 1992.

Cosby's estimated worth was more than $400 million at one point. But his career collapsed¹⁴ as the accusations against him increased.

Words in This Story

assault – n. an attack

prosecute⁴ – v. officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law

dissent⁸ – v. offer an opinion that disagrees with others

consensual – adj. with the willing agreement of all the people involved

stance – n. a way of thinking about something, especially expressed in a publicly stated opinion

maintain – v. to continue to have or keep in existence

discourage – v. to make someone less determined, hopeful or confident

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

4 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

5 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

6 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

9 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

10 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

11 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

12 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

13 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。