Bill Cosby Freed from Prison after Court Overturns Conviction
2021-07-02
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1American comedian and actor Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after a court overturned his sexual assault conviction.
2Cosby was released from a Pennsylvania prison on Wednesday after the state's Supreme Court issued its ruling.
3He returned to his home near Philadelphia a short time later.
4The 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.
5Constand was Temple University's women's basketball administrator at the time of the assault.
6The state's highest court ruled that Cosby was unfairly prosecuted because a previous prosecutor, Bruce Castor, promised in 2005 that he would not be charged criminally over Constand's accusations.
7There was no evidence that the agreement was put in writing.
8Four Supreme Court justices formed the majority that ruled in Cosby's favor.
9Three others offered dissenting opinions.
10Cosby was charged criminally by Castor's successor, Kevin Steele, in 2015.
11Steele claimed that he was not required to observe the agreement made by Castor.
12But the Supreme Court disagreed.
13It found that Cosby depended on Castor's promise when he agreed to testify in a civil case brought by Constand.
14As part of that testimony, Cosby admitted offering substances to women he wanted to have sex with.
15But he said all the encounters were consensual.
16The civil case ended with Cosby settling with Constand for more than $3 million.
17But when Cosby's testimony in the civil case was made public, Steele had Cosby arrested and brought criminal charges against him.
18In total, more than 60 women have come forward to say that Cosby sexually violated them and many accused him of unknowingly drugging them.
19Cosby was only charged in Constand's case because many of the incidents happened long ago and the statute of limitations had already run out.
20A statute of limitations is a law that prevents a suspect from being tried after a specific amount of time has passed.
21The charges in Constand's case were filed just days before the statute of limitations was about to run out.
22Cosby appeared with his legal team outside his home on Wednesday, but did not speak.
23One of his lawyers, Jennifer Bonjean, said the comedian had "served three years of an unjust sentence."
24Cosby smiled and moved his head when asked if he was happy to be home.
25Later, 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 innocence."
26In a statement, Constand and her lawyers condemned the ruling.
27They, along with sexual assault victims and their supporters, expressed fear that the decision could discourage other victims from coming forward.
28"We urge all victims to have their voices heard," the statement said.
29Cosby broke barriers in the 1960s as the first black actor to star in an American television network show.
30He went on to become hugely famous as the wise and understanding Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show.
31The program was one of the most-watched in America during its run from 1984 to 1992.
32Cosby's estimated worth was more than $400 million at one point.
33But his career collapsed as the accusations against him increased.
34I'm Bryan Lynn.
1American comedian and actor Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after a court overturned his sexual assault conviction. 2Cosby was released from a Pennsylvania prison on Wednesday after the state's Supreme Court issued its ruling. He returned to his home near Philadelphia a short time later. 3The 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 administrator at the time of the assault. 4The state's highest court ruled that Cosby was unfairly prosecuted because a previous prosecutor, Bruce Castor, promised in 2005 that he would not be charged criminally over Constand's accusations. 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 dissenting opinions. 5Cosby 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. 6As part of that testimony, Cosby admitted offering substances to women he wanted to have sex with. But he said all the encounters were consensual. 7The 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. 8In total, more than 60 women have come forward to say that Cosby sexually violated them and many accused him of unknowingly drugging them. 9Cosby was only charged in Constand's case because many of the incidents happened long ago and the statute 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. 10The charges in Constand's case were filed just days before the statute of limitations was about to run out. 11Cosby 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." 12Cosby 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 innocence." 13In a statement, Constand and her lawyers condemned 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. 14Cosby 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. 15Cosby's estimated worth was more than $400 million at one point. But his career collapsed as the accusations against him increased. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19___________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21assault - n. an attack 22prosecute - v. officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law 23dissent - v. offer an opinion that disagrees with others 24consensual - adj. with the willing agreement of all the people involved 25stance - n. a way of thinking about something, especially expressed in a publicly stated opinion 26maintain - v. to continue to have or keep in existence 27discourage - v. to make someone less determined, hopeful or confident