America’s Dad, Bill Cosby has been released from prison following a surprise decision by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.
According to reports, the supreme court overturned the 83-year old’s sexual assault conviction, ruling that Cosby’s prosecution should never have occurred due to a deal the comedian made with former Montgomery County prosecutor, Bruce Castor.
The court said District Attorney Bruce Castor induced Cosby into making incriminating comments in a civil case by promising him that his statements wouldn’t be used in a parallel criminal case. Later, a different prosecutor, District Attorney Kevin Steele, broke that deal and used those comments to prosecute him, which was a violation of Cosby’s Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The court said Steele was obligated to stand by his predecessor’s promise not to charge Cosby.
Cosby served more than two years of a three- to ten-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.