“If, after re-deliberation, you are still deadlocked, you should report that to me”.
The seven men and five women were sent back to their hotel by the judge hours after he instructed them to continue trying to deliver a verdict on the three charges against the veteran United States entertainer.
O’Neill gave jurors no deadline. They have been deliberating since Monday. Some jurors looked defeated as the judge ordered them to continue deliberating.
Judge Steven O’Neill praised them for their efforts, which includes three consecutive 12-hour days of deliberation. They were bused in from Allegheny County near Pittsburgh and have been sequestered in a hotel for the trial. This was the only case to result in criminal charges against Cosby.
The comedian is accused of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
But they didn’t come up with a verdict, leaving them exhausted and spent after a long day in the jury room.
The trial marks a crushing fall from grace for an entertainer known for his seminal role as a lovable father and obstetrician on hit TV series “The Cosby Show“.
His lawyer says Cosby and Andrea Constand were lovers sharing a consensual sexual encounter at his suburban Philadelphia home.
Legal experts said the trial fits the “he said, she said” arguments so common to sexual offense cases. The panel also asked to rehear parts of the 79-year-old comedian’s deposition testimony.
Following the jury’s morning note, one of Cosby’s accusers, Jewel Allison, began crying.
Bill Cosby’s accusers and supporters alike have gathered on the courthouse steps to await a verdict in his sexual assault case.
Constand was in the courtroom and showed no emotion as the statement was read. She tweeted a video that shows her shooting a mini-basketball into a net to the tune of “Sweet Georgia Brown”, the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Wyatt added a note of caution, saying: “We just hope right now that these jurors are still being treated the way they should be treated – that no one will come in and try to have them change their decision, change heir thoughts, change their minds”.
Allred also expressed disappointment at the fact that the jury was unable to reach a verdict, stating that a retrial would be too expensive.
Cosby remains on $1 million bail over the three felony charges.
Constand testified over two days last week for the prosecution. “If she insists, that could hold some weight”, he said.
“Put them down, they’re your friends“. He told them they had to rely on their collective memory.
As court proceeding came to a close Thursday, the jury forewoman said the members could not reach “a unanimous consensus on any” charges against Cosby. She becomes a critical player in that decision.
She woke up on the couch early in the morning with her clothes disheveled, she said. Several of them attended the criminal trial with their layers. “Mr. Cosby should not be here today”.
Outside the courtroom, Jewel Allison, an aspiring actress and model and among roughly 60 women who’ve accused Cosby of drugging and raping them, sobbed at the news.
Bernard told the supporters of her struggle with mental health issues after the alleged abuse.
“This is not the end”, the attorney said.
“I’m here for the truth, no matter what it is”, said Zakia Tuck.
Jurors did hear Cosby’s side of the story – but not in his voice. Prosecutors tried to paint the calls as business-related, because Cosby was a Temple trustee and Constand was an employee. The third count covers Cosby’s alleged use of pills to impair Constand before groping her breast and genitals.
Cosby later told police the pills were Benadryl, an over-the-counter cold and allergy medicine. She has been a regular attendee at deliberations this week, sometimes wearing a pin that read “We Stand in Truth”. The district attorney’s office declined to comment. She sued Cosby in a civil suit and settled for an undisclosed amount in 2006. His admissions in that deposition led Montgomery County prosecutors to file charges against him.
Bill Cosby has arrived for the fourth day of jury deliberations in his sexual assault trial.