Bill Cosby has officially entered an appeal to his sexual assault conviction that has him currently placed behind bars. It is stated in the filing, that the testimony of five of the accusers was “strikingly dissimilar” to the felony charges and should have not been played in court.
The filed appeal is opposition to the thoughts of Judge Steven O’Neill who believed the statements shared could be considered as “chilling similarities” and connected to a “signature” crime.
Cosby is currently serving a three to 10-year sentence and has been behind bars since September in a Pennsylvania state facility. Fox News reports while behind bars, the insurance company for the legendary comedian has settled an additional eight lawsuits that consisted of sexual misconduct and defamation.
Details of the appeal, which was filed in Pennsylvania Superior Court, challenge the conviction of Cosby on various components of the case that have been poked at since the arrest of Cosby in December of 2015. Legal counsel for Cosby stated the details were unfairly stacked against Cosby, citing he was never charged, most of the accusations are decades old and you can’t defend against the accusations. In addition, the testimonies of five different women described different types of sexual assault.
“This evidence was used to strip Cosby of his presumption of innocence and to try to establish that Cosby had the propensity to sexually assault women. This evidence never should have been admitted at trial,” lawyers Kristen L. Weisenberger, Brian Perry, and Sarah Kelly-Kilgore wrote in the appeal.
They also stated the jury should not have had the opportunity to hear the 2006 deposition testimony from Constand’s civil case that eventually included reopening of the case involving Constand’s police complaint.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Cosby’s wife Camille referred to him as “one of our great American treasures” and referred to his appeal as an important filing for all “wrongfully convicted of a crime, without any proof.”
