Bill Cosby walks free
Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby has been released from prison.
Pennsylvania's highest court threw out Cosby's sexual assault conviction and released him from prison Wednesday (local time) in a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as "America's Dad".
The court ruled that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby.
The 83-year-old gave the v-for-victory sign to the cameras as he walked towards the helicopter which was taking him to his suburban Philadelphia home.
Cosby served nearly three years of a three to 20 year sentence for drugging and violating Andrea Constant in 2004.
The former Cosby Show star — the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era — had no immediate comment.
Cosby was arrested in 2015, when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence brought charges against him just days before the 12-year statute of limitations was about to run out.
But on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor's promise not to charge Cosby, though there was no evidence that promise was ever put in writing.
As Cosby was promptly set free from the state prison in suburban Montgomery County and driven home, his appeals lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said he should never have been prosecuted.
“District attorneys can’t change it up simply because of their political motivation,” she said, adding that Cosby remains in excellent health, apart from being legally blind.
In a statement, Steele said Cosby went free “on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime.”
He commended Constand for coming forward and added: “My hope is that this decision will not dampen the reporting of sexual assaults by victims. ... We still believe that no one is above the law — including those who are rich, famous and powerful.”