'He already paid a price and suffered': One of Cosby's jurors explains his thinking on the mistrial
Matt Rourke (Associated Press)
One of the jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial told a reporter that the comedian had "already paid a price and suffered."
Back in 2015, famed comedian Bill Cosby was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault in relation to allegations that he drugged and molested a Canadian basketball player in 2004.
On June 17, the judge in Cosby's case declared a mistrial after the 12-person jury spent six days and more than 50 hours trying to reach a unanimous decision.
The case, which led to dozens of women coming forward with similar accusations of being given drugs and then assaulted, led to a sharp divide between those who chose to believe the victims and Cosby supporters.
Aaron Martin, a reporter for WPXI news station in Pittsburgh, tweeted that one of the jurors in the case told him that "whatever the man did, he's already paid a price and suffered."
According to Martin, the juror, who wished to remain anonymous, said that at one point the jurors were divided 10-2 before some had changed their minds. He did not reveal whether most felt that Cosby was guilty or innocent.
Benedict Morelli, a trial attorney who represented Tracy Morgan in the case against Wal-Mart, told Business Insider that despite the court's best efforts, celebrity status often ends up influencing the outcome of such trials.
"It's very, very hard for juries to work on cases where someone is loved by so many people," Morelli said in an earlier interview.
After the judge declared the mistrial, Cosby’s publicist said that his client has been “restored” by the legal system. “Mr. Cosby’s power is back,” said Andrew Wyatt. “It’s back. He has been restored.”
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