The stunning revelation of a hung jury in the Bill Cosby trial in Philadelphia has court watchers buzzing, as to what could be the reason they cannot decide whether the now-disgraced comedy legend sexually assaulted a lesbian woman. The panel has been told by Judge Steven T. O’Neill to keep deliberating.
Earlier Thursday, jurors told the judge that after four days of deliberations — 30-hours in all — they were deadlocked and unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
“We cannot reach unanimous consensus on any of the counts,” the note to Judge O’Neill said.
The judge summoned the jury into the courtroom and then read a new charge to the jurors.
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“Each of you has a duty to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement,” he said, sending them back into deliberations.
The defense immediately asked for a mistrial, but Judge O’Neill denied it.
Andrea Constand, the lesbian who has accused Mr. Cosby of sexual assault, made a strong case and remained composed and calm on the stand. Cosby’s defense team spent most of its time during cross-examination of Constand trying to show the jury inconsistencies and mistakes in her account of the alleged assault 13 years ago.
Constand brushed off suggestions she and Cosby had a romantic relationship before that 2004 encounter at his suburban Philadelphia home.
She explained away the numerous phone calls they had afterward by saying she was merely returning Cosby’s messages about the women’s basketball squad at Temple University, where he was a powerful member of the board of trustees and she was at that time director of team operations.
Constand, 44, withstood some seven hours of testimony over two days, during which she told the jury that Cosby gave her three blue pills and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop.
So far, the jurors have made six requests for clarifications or to hear testimony or evidence from the trial a second time.
This is a developing story. Bookmark this page for further updates.
