Bill Cosby, the comedian once known as "America's Dad" for his TV role as paternal Dr. Cliff Huxtable, is declaring victory this Father's Day after a jury deliberated 52 hours without reaching consensus on charges he drugged and molested a woman in 2004. District Attorney Kevin Steele vowed to try the 79-year-old Cosby a second time following the mistrial, saying accuser Andrea Constand supported the decision. "She has shown such courage through this, and we are in awe of what she has done. She's entitled to a verdict in this case." (Prosecutors get four months to decide whether they want to retry Cosby or drop the charges.) Cosby's team declared victory, however temporary, and immediately went on the attack.
Camille Cosby, the entertainer's wife of 53 years, slammed prosecutors for bringing the case to court, calling Steele "heinously ... ambitious." She had harsh words for Judge Steven O'Neill, too, calling him "overtly arrogant, collaborating with the district attorney." O'Neill, for his part, reminded prosecutors and the defense that "a mistrial is neither vindication nor victory for anybody." It wasn't immediately known how many jurors wanted to convict and how many wanted to acquit, reports the AP. None of the jurors have commented. Former federal prosecutor David Weinstein says Cosby's celebrity almost certainly played a role in the jury's deliberations, perhaps to convince "two or three jurors that it's impossible to convict Dr. Huxtable, to convict Fat Albert ... that he couldn't have done this horrible thing." (Cosby's lawyers are still fighting 10 civil suits against him.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
