U.S. Supreme Court won't review decision that freed Bill Cosby
CTV
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday without comment that it would not review Bill Cosby's sexual assault case, leaving him a free man and ending a two-decade legal drama that shifted the cultural landscape, destroyed the groundbreaking Black actor's reputation, and sent him to prison for several years in his late 70s.
The high court -- whose nine members include two men accused of sexual misconduct themselves -- declined to review a stunning decision out of Pennsylvania that released Cosby from prison in June over the word of a former prosecutor who said he had made a secret promise with Cosby's lawyers that he could never be charged.
A Cosby spokesperson expressed "sincere gratitude to the justices" for the ruling on behalf of Cosby and his family and said he was the victim of "a reprehensible bait and switch" by the prosecutor and trial judge in the case.
"This is truly a victory for Mr. Cosby, but it shows that cheating will never get you far in life, and the corruption that lies within Montgomery County District's Attorney Office has been brought to the center stage of the world," spokesperson Andrew Wyatt said.
The office of Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, in Philadelphia's suburbs, did not have an immediate comment. Accuser Andrea Constand planned to issue a statement later in the day.