After peer 50 hours of deliberations over the course of six days, Judge Steven O’Neill declared a mistrial this morning in the #BillCosby case after the jury, made up of four white women, six white men, one black woman, and one black man, was unable to agree on a verdict.
“We’ve been at this now for 10 days (including testimony). There has been nothing but a supreme effort on your part,” O’Neill told the jury yesterday. “Go through your routines, which have probably become very habitualized at this point.”
Cosby was facing three charges of aggravated incident assault as Andrea Constand accused the comedian of “assaulting her without her consent, assaulting her while she was unconscious and assaulting her using drugs to impair her ability to consent,” according to CNN.
O’Neill’s decision doesn’t mean that Cosby is guilty or not guilty, however, he is a free man at this point. Prosecutors may choose to retry the case with a different jury in the future.
As he left the courtroom on Friday, Cosby wished everyone a happy Father’s Day and urged supporters not to argue with those who may be disappointed with the decision.
“I just want to wish all of the fathers a Happy Father’s Day and I want to thank all of the jury for their long days, their honest work individually,” he said. “I also want to thank the supporters who’ve been here and please to the supporters, stay calm, do not argue with people, just keep up the great support. Thank you all. Thank you.”
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Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/17/us/bill-cosby-verdict-watch/index.html
