Judge Declares a Mistrial in the Bill Cosby Rape Case
For years now, America has been struggling with the allegations that Bill Cosby — once a beloved television father and comedian — may have used his position in Hollywood to commit a series of violent sexual assaults. For those unfamiliar with the timeline involved in the Cosby case, I would encourage you to check out ABC’s detailed recap of everything that led up to this past month’s trial, including the civil cases brought against the actor-comedian and the Hannibal Buress joke that is widely regarded as bringing these accusations to the public eye. And today, as noted by Deadline, a Norristown, PA jury has forced the judge to declare a mistrial in Andrea Costand’s case against Cosby.
While more than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault since the original accusations came to light, this specific case has focused on the alleged rape of Andrea Constand in 2004. Cosby’s defense team made headlines when they rested their case after only 10 minutes, electing not to call Cosby as a witness in his own defense. As noted by Deadline, the judge in the Cosby case was forced to declare a mistrial after jurors admitted to being “hopelessly deadlocked” after more than two days of deliberations. “After 52 hours of deliberation, probably one of the most courageous acts I’ve ever seen, I’m compelled to grant a mistrial,” Judge O’Neill told the court.
Immediately following the judge’s ruling, the Montgomery County District Attorney announced that they would be seeking a retrial in the Cosby case:
For years now, plenty of talented writers — including one of our own — have struggled to reconcile Bill Cosby’s impact on popular culture with the unspeakable actions he’s alleged to have committed. Today may offer a brief respite for Cosby and his defense team, but there’s no comfort here for the alleged victims or for those struggling to make sense of Cosby’s impact on their own lives. Expect further updates to come quickly: it would seem that Montgomery County will waste no time in moving this case to a retrial.