Cosby’s accusers say they are “stunned” by court decision to release actor

Sexual assault accusers said they were stunned and devastated after Pennsylvania’s highest court on Wednesday overturned Bill Cosby’s conviction, allowing him to free himself after serving two years of his three to ten year sentence jail for allegedly drugging and assaulting a former basketball coach.

Stunned. No words. I just have a stomach ache, Janice Baker-Kinney told NBC News. She is one of more than 60 women who have accused the actor of allegations ranging from groping to sexual assault to rape, alleging that Cosby sexually assaulted her in Nevada in 1982.

Baker-Kinney was one of many accusers who testified at his trial in 2018. On Wednesday, she tweeted his frustration in three words: “#RAPIST #RAPIST #RAPIST”

Cosby went to state prison after his conviction in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand. The former basketball coach who worked for Temple University at the time said Cosby assaulted her at her Pennsylvania home in 2004 after she came to him for career advice.

Cosby has denied any wrongdoing and previously said his contact with Constand was consensual.

“I have never changed my position or my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who have supported me in this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for having upholds the rule of law, ” Cosby tweeted after being released on Wednesday.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a prior agreement with a former prosecutor prevented him from being indicted in the case and ordered his release after finding he had been denied protection against self-incrimination .

In a joint statement with his attorneys, Constand said the Bill Cosby ruling is “not only disappointing but concerning in that it may discourage those seeking justice for sexual assault in the criminal justice system from reporting or participating in prosecution of the perpetrator or may force a victim to choose between bringing a criminal or civil action. “

Eden Tirl, an actress who was hired for a role on “The Cosby Show” and accused Cosby of assaulting her in 1989, said she was completely out of breath after learning of the court ruling.

From the start, the rigid constructions of the statute of limitations did not provide protection or a path to justice for the women who spoke out against Cosby, she said in texts to NBC News. The outdated laws are so clearly in place, protecting men in these cases, more often than not. This is the story of the #metoo movement that MUST be included in the narrative now! Enough of Cosby’s story aside.

Earlier this year, Cosby was denied parole after refusing to participate in a sex offender program in prison. The actor vehemently argued that he would offer no remorse for his alleged actions, even if it affected his parole eligibility.

Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt thanked his legal team and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, calling Wednesday’s ruling a moment of justice for black Americans.

“This is the justice that Mr. Cosby fought for,” Wyatt said in a statement. “They saw the light. He gave up his Fifth Amendment right and settled out of court. He got a deal and he was given immunity. He should never have been charged.”

Heidi Thomas, who accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1984, texted NBC News that she felt the actors’ release was unexpected because he had just been denied the parole to not participate in any sexual assault program.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who represented 33 of Cosbys ‘accusers, released a statement shortly after the court ruling saying it must be devastating for Bill Cosbys’ accusers.

Allred added: My heart goes out especially to those who courageously testified in his two criminal cases. I have represented the majority of accusers of previous wrongdoing who have testified. Despite the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, it was an important fight for justice and even though the court overturned the conviction on technical grounds, it did not justify Bill Cosby’s conduct and should not not be interpreted as a statement or conclusion that he did not engage in the acts of which he is accused.

Cosby’s prosecution and conviction was one of the first big wins for the #MeToo movement, which has resulted in a nationwide toll against sexual assault, harassment and abuse.

Lawyer Lisa Bloom represents three of Cosby’s accusers, including model Janice Dickinson, who also testified against Cosby at his trial.

The 3 Bill Cosby accusers that I represent and I am disgusted that he is a free man today. He is not released because he is innocent, Bloom posted on Twitter. He is released because a prosecutor promised him years ago that he would not be brought to justice, without even making a deal for the weather.

Of the trial, Bloom added, The Sentencing. We did not believe it: justice, a little bit, finally. And now this. A kick in the stomach to the victims and their defenders.

Several anti-sexual violence organizations have also expressed disappointment over the courts’ decision to let Cosby loose.

We are deeply disappointed with today’s decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the message that decision sends to the brave survivors who have come forward to seek justice for what Bill Cosby has done to them. This is not justice, Scott Berkowitz, president of the National Rape, Abuse and Incest Network, or RAINN, said in a statement.

the National organization for women saidBill Cosby is free on a technicality, but the women he assaulted, who bravely came forward to bring him to justice, are suffering again. They thought they had finally reached some limited extent of closure and now this. “

It is very difficult for accusers of sexual violence to see abusers free themselves, said Laura Palumbo, director of communications at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Along with the pain, it also creates a very traumatic feeling of helplessness in so many survivors. They may feel that there is too much outside of their power and control and that the odds are inevitably stacked against them, she said. It is so disheartening.