UPDATED: Mistrial is declared in sexual-assault trial of entertainer Bill Cosby [View all]

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post



By Manuel Roig-Franzia June 17 at 10:31 AM

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania judge declared a mistrial Saturdayafter a jury was “hopelessly deadlocked” on sexual-assault charges against Bill Cosby, the comic legend whose legacy as a promoter of wholesome values has been tarnished by a years-long sex and drugging scandal. As the mistrial was declared, Cosby sat at the defense table with his chin held high, a flat, blank look on his face. Across the well of the courtroom, jurors stood one-by-one in the jury box and said, “Yes,” as the judge asked whether each whether they agreed that the jury is “hopelessly deadlocked.” The jurors answered without hesitation, but several slumped forward in their chairs, elbows on their knees and fingers knit, looks of frustration on their faces.

After the questioning was done, the entertainer sat back in his chair, holding a slender cane that has been with him inside the courtroom each day to his chest. Cosby’s family was not in the courtroom to hear the judge’s decision. After the jury filed out, prosecutor Kevin Steele announced in court that he will retry Cosby

The jurors, who had complained of exhaustion, deliberated 52 hours before finally saying it could not reach a verdict on three counts of aggravated indecent assault against the 79-year-old entertainer. But the hung jury does not end Cosby’s legal troubles because he could be retried on the same charges and is still facing lawsuits filed by some of the 60 women who have accused him of sexual assault, rape or sexual harassment.

As deliberations dragged on, signs of discontent in the jury room kept emerging. The jurors, who had been kept working for 12- and 13-hour days by Steven T. O’Neill, the Montgomery County judge overseeing the case, since beginning their cloistered discussions Monday afternoon, asked to go back to the hotel early on Tuesday. The next day they expressed “concerns” to court officials, though the judge did not reveal the substance of their complaints.


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/06/17/mistrial-declared-in-cosby-sex-assault-trial-jury-hopelessly-deadlocked/?pushid=59453b832e12651d00000076&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.995c97b0f99f