A Pennsylvania judge has declared a mistrial in the sexual assault case against disgraced comedian Bill Cosby.
Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill declared the mistrial after the sixth day of deliberations that lasted longer than the actual trial and said the jury of seven men and five women were “hopelessly deadlocked”.
Cosby’s legal team declared victory out the courthouse.
His publicist Andrew Wyatt boasted just minutes after the case ended, “Johnnie Cochran is looking down, smiling…for all those attorneys who conspired, like Gloria Allred – tell them to go back to law school.”
Gloria Allred is the lawyer for 33 of the women who accused Cosby of slipping them pills and sexually assaulting them.
However, former Temple University basketball manager Andrea Constand, who accused the comedian of attacking her in 2004, was the only one whose case has gone to trial.
Cosby’s defence attorney Brian McMonagle proclaimed: “Justice is real. It lives here in Montgomery County,” before channeling the Rolling Stones and added, “You don’t always get what you want, sometimes you get what you need.”
Cosby’s face was grim outside of court. He stood still with his hands clasped in front of him as another member of his team read a statement from his wife Camille.
In it, the former entertainer’s wife slammed the district attorney as “heinously and exploitively ambitious” and Judge O’Neill as “overtly and arrogantly collaborating with the District Attorney”.
“I am grateful to any of the jurors who tenaciously fought to review the evidence, which is the rightful way to make a sound decision,” she wrote.
“Truth can be subdued but not destroyed.”
Angela Agrusa, another one of Cosby’s attorneys, blamed prosecutors for the mistrial.
“This is what happens. Juries are stuck when a prosecutor seeks to put someone in prison for things that are simply not presented in the court room,” Agrusa said.
Cosby’s legal team have treated the mistrial as a positive and claimed the star’s “legacy” had been restored.
“Mr. Cosby’s power is back,” Wyatt beamed. “The jurors have used their power to speak and Mr. Cosby’s power is back.”
But Allred hit back on behalf of the other Cosby accusers she’s representing: “It’s too early to celebrate, Mr. Cosby. Round two may be just around the corner and this time, justice may prevail.”
“We’re coming for you, buddy,” she added of Cosby.