No Verdict for Cosby Case Yet

This Wednesday, on the third day of deliberations, jurors deciding the outcome of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case were still unable to come to a verdict. The jury was not dismissed until about 9 pm at night but still could not come to any final determination on the case.

Portions of Andrea Constand’s testimony were read back by the court reporter, in which described how Cosby drugged her and sexually assaulted her at his Philadelphia home back in 2004. Cosby acknowledged in a police interview in 2005 that he had given Constand an allergy pill and described the encounter as “consensual petting”.

This is just one of the several allegations that the former TV dad faces. He has denied several allegations including Constand’s and those made by women stretching over decades. Constand’s claims are the only recent enough claims to give way to criminal charges.

Deliberations began this past Monday in Norristown, Pennsylvania, where the jury has stayed late every night since the trial began. The jury has currently deliberated for a total of 30 hours and resumed this Thursday morning.

The star of the hit show, “The Cosby Show”, did not testify during the trial, however, his own account was shown to jurors in his sworn depositions in 2005 and 2006, during Constand’s civil lawsuit and his police interview.

As the hearing proceeded, the crowd outside the Montgomery Court house appeared to have grown. It is unclear whether or not the jury is close to coming to a decision.

Thus far, we know that the jury has re-examined both Cosby and Constand’s versions of the encounter, with particular focus on the pills he had given her before hand.

From Constand’s perspective, she claims that the pills she was given left her disoriented and unable to resist, however, Cosby claims that he had given her Benadryl, a common allergy medication. Lawyer’s for Cosby say that Constand was his lover before creating this fabricated story for monetary purposes. Lawyers claim that Constand original statements in the police in 2005-which indicated that she had never been alone with Cosby prior to the incident and cut all contact off with him- are false.

However, Constand testified that she was mistaken, but prosecutors turned to a psychologist that deals with victims of sexual assault, who claims that it is common to forget details about the incident and those affected may engage in irrational behavior. Prosecutors have identified Cosby as a repeat offender with familiar patterns of abuse.

Kelly Johnson was called on as well, who claims that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1996. Jurors were also given testimony from his deposition in 1970 where he admitted to giving several young women sedatives.

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