More than 60 women have come forward to claim that Bill Cosby assaulted them over the course of his decades-long career as a well-known actor and comedian. Despite the dozens of accusations, Cosby managed to evade a conviction for his crimes until just two years ago, when a case brought forward by Andrea Constand saw a jury convict Cosby of sexual assault, sentencing him to three to ten years in prison. Now, the state’s highest court has granted Cosby the right to appeal that conviction.The panel of judges will allow Cosby’s lawyers to file appeals concerning two aspects of the case. During the 2018 proceedings (which followed a deadlocked jury mistrial the previous year), prosecutors employed “prior bad act” witnesses to testify that Cosby had done to them what he stood accused of doing to Constand — that is, drugging and assaulting them while they were unconscious or semi-conscious — to try to establish a pattern of behaviour. Cosby’s lawyers call the testimonies of these women unreliable.The second issue is more of a legal technicality: Cosby claims to have had an agreement with a lawyer who deposed him years before. He says that the alleged agreement granted him immunity in exchange for answering questions in the civil lawsuit Constand filed against him in the mid-2000s. But it was
after this lawsuit was settled in 2006 that dozens
more women came forward with stories like Constand’s and criminal prosecutors decided to pursue the case.A Cosby spokesperson describes the actor as “extremely thankful” for the court’s decision: "America and the world is witnessing the 23rd day of protests regarding the abuse and murder of Black people,”
he said in a statement, “not just at the hands of corrupt police officers; but these extremely vital and important protests are exposing the corruption that lies within the criminal justice system. As we have all stated, the false conviction of Bill Cosby is so much bigger than him — it's about the destruction of ALL Black people and people of colour in America.”Cosby himself, however, has been accused of employing anti-Black stereotypes in his standup act. The most frequently cited bit is one that’s become known as the Pound Cake speech, which is littered with both unfounded and outright false criticisms of Black communities and culture (which Buzzfeed tidily dismantles
here).If the court rules in Cosby’s favour, prosecutors will have to decide whether or not to take the case to trial once more. The decision has infuriated victims like Constand and the other women who testified in support of her allegations. Constand released a statement on Twitter asking the court to make sure that her abuser is not allowed to return to the community.
[video_embed id='1982317']Before you go: Justin Bieber speaks out following sexual assault allegations[/video_embed]
