Mistrial declared after Jury deadlocks5 min read

Norristown, Pennsylvania (CNN):

The high-profile case accusing Bill Cosby of aggravated indecent assault ended in a mistrial Saturday after a Pennsylvania jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision.

The outcome leaves one of America’s most recognized entertainers as well as his accusers without vindication, but prosecutors immediately announced they will retry the case.

About an hour into the sixth day of deliberations, Judge Steven O’Neill declared that the jury of seven men and five women were hopelessly deadlocked in a legal battle closely watched by the public as well as dozens of women who have accused Cosby of similar misconduct in the past.

Outside court, Cosby, 79, was silent, but spokesman Andrew Wyatt pumped his fist in air and declared that Cosby’s “power is back.” A spokeswoman for Cosby’s wife, Camille, delivered a statement blasting the prosecution, judge and media:

“How do I describe the district attorney? Heinously and exploitively ambitious. How do I describe the judge? Overtly and arrogantly collaborating with the district attorney. How do I describe the counsels for the accusers? Totally unethical. How do I describe many, but not all, general media? Blatantly vicious entities that continually disseminated intentional omissions of truths for the primary purpose of greedily selling sensationalism at the expense of a human life.”

Angela Agrusa, a member of Cosby’s legal team, also took aim at the prosecution.

“Juries are stuck when a prosecutor seeks to put someone in prison for things that are simply not presented in the courtroom,” she said. “And the jury stuck to what they were asked to do, and that is to review the evidence before them and there simply wasn’t enough.”

At a news conference afterward, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said prosecutors will “evaluate and review our case” and retry Cosby.

“Our plan is to move this case forward as soon as possible,” he said.

He expressed disappointment over the mistrial, praised the “extraordinary sacrifices’ of the jury and said one of the “good outcomes” of the trial was that two Cosby accusers “got to face the defendant in court.”

Steele said Andrea Constand, the woman who accused Cosby of drugging and assaulting her, would not be speaking to the media. He praised her courage.