Comedian Bill Cosby proclaimed his "innocence" late Thursday after Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction and released him from prison.
Cosby had been found guilty of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Constand's story prompted many other women to come forward with similar claims against Cosby.
Cosby was serving a three- to 10-year sentence. He served almost three years. According to the state Supreme Court, the 83-year-old can't be retried on those charges, reports said.
"For these reasons, Cosby's convictions and sentence are vacated, and he is discharged," NBC News quoted the high court saying in an opinion written by Justice David Wecht.
The court ruled a deal Cosby made with a former district attorney that he would not be charged should have protected him from prosecution.
Another reason the high court gave for its decision was that members of the jury had been allowed to hear the testimony of five of Cosby's accusers with claims similar to that of Constand.
I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence.
Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law. #BillCosby pic.twitter.com/bxELvJWDe5 — Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 30, 2021
"I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law," Cosby said.
Constand and her lawyers said the Supreme Court's determination to vacate Cosby's conviction was "disappointing" and might "discourage" others victims of sexual assault from coming forward.
Brian Perry, one of Cosby's lawyers, said at a news conference the former "Cosby Show" star's release was proof of a fair system.
The overturning of the conviction, according to the justices, and barring of any further prosecution, is the "only remedy that comports with society's reasonable expectations of its elected prosecutors and our criminal justice system," The Associated Press reported his lawyers saying.
