Bill Cosby Verdict Update: Comedian Will Likely Be Found Not Guilty In Sexual Assault Trial, Expert Claims
The Bill Cosby verdict has yet to come in, but some experts believe it’s likely the actor and comedian will end up being found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago.
The jury in Cosby’s trial deliberated for more than five hours on Monday but did not yet return a verdict, and it is not clear when they could reach one. On Monday, the jury had asked to review excerpts of a deposition Cosby gave in a 2005 civil suit before being dismissed for the day, NBC News reported.
Bill Cosby is accused of drugging and groping 44-year-old Andrea Constand at the comedian’s come outside Philadelphia in 2004. Constant claimed that Cosby plied her with pills, but Cosby claims that he only gave her Benadryl because she was not feeling well, and said that the encounter between the two was consensual.
The jury was set to return on Tuesday morning, but it was not clear when Cosby would receive his verdict.
Some legal experts are already guessing what verdict Bill Cosby might hear. Joe Trinacria, a columnist for Philly Mag, noted that there is no physical evidence in the case and instead falls to a “he said/she said” argument.
“As you may guess, the majority of sexual assault cases that lack sufficient physical evidence tend to yield not-guilty verdicts,” Trinacria wrote.
“And that’s without considering the fact that Cosby is a celebrity defendant who made an indelible impression on American pop culture and was seen as a ‘stand-up guy’ by so many for so long.”
Bill Cosby chose not to take the stand in his own defense, with his lawyers, instead, taking on Constand’s account of the events and noting that it took her more than a decade to come forward. A string of women accused Cosby of sexual assault over several weeks in 2014 and 2015, with the allegations stretching back decades.
Bill Cosby declines to testify at trial. His defense rests its case after calling only one witness https://t.co/5xCxjBVcvS
— CNN (@CNN) June 12, 2017
The entire Bill Cosby defense closing statement was essentially "she's a liar who wanted it" https://t.co/GCm2Rw5i5p pic.twitter.com/y3jKUBv91t
— Jezebel (@Jezebel) June 12, 2017
With Constand taking the stand at the trial and Cosby remaining silent, legal experts said the verdict will come down to who jurors believe more.
“It’s going to be basically two people in the room and they’re going to have very different versions of the event,” Barry Coburn, a defense lawyer based in Washington, told CNN.
“And the jury is going to have to decide.”
The jury will be back on Tuesday to deliberate more, but there is not yet any indication of when the Bill Cosby trial verdict could be returned.
[Featured Image by Mark Makela/Getty Images]
