Bill Cosby, 83, is released from prison, two years into 10 year sentence, after PA Supreme Court overturns sexual assault conviction because prosecutor promised in 2005 that he wouldn't be charged

Bill Cosby, shown in the most recent picture taken in at the SCI Phoenix in Pennsylvania, will be released from prison on Wednesday 

Bill Cosby has been released from prison after Pennsylvania's Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction in a surprise decision, ruling that a 2005 public promise by a prosecutor that he wouldn't charge him gave him a false sense of security and led him to incriminate himself.  

Cosby was jailed in 2018 for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.  She had gone to the police in 2005 but the then Montgomery County DA Bruce Castor - who went on to become one of Trump's impeachment lawyers - said publicly he was not going to pursue charges. 

The following year, Constand sued Cosby and in a civil deposition, he admitted using Quaaludes on women without their consent and said he did it to have sex with them. Over the next ten years, multiple women made claims against him publicly and with the police. 

In 2015, a new Montgomery County DA charged him, using the remarks he made in the 2005 deposition as part of the evidence against him. Cosby was convicted in 2018 and he appealed it, claiming it was an unfair prosecution in the first place and that he also didn't get a chance at a fair trial because the judge allowed five women to testify as 'bad act' witnesses. 

Their allegations weren't being prosecuted, but they all told stories of how he'd allegedly assaulted them. Cosby claimed that it led the jury to find him guilty of assaulting Constand unfairly, and that if the jury hadn't heard from the other women, they wouldn't have convicted on the evidence alone. 

In their decision, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court did not rule on whether or not the five other women's testimony was fair. Instead, they focused only on the 2005 announcement by Castor - which Cosby considered an informal 'deal' or 'agreement' - and found that Cosby was robbed of his fifth amendment right not to incriminate himself when he was deposed, because Castor had taken it away from him. 

They said that the only remedy was to free Cosby and to stop him from ever being prosecuted again.

'He must be discharged, and any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred,' Justice David Wecht wrote.  

His victims have reacted angrily, saying they are 'disgusted' and 'shocked' by the decision.  

Bill Cosby, believed to be in this white vehicle, is released from SCI Phoenix in Pennsylvania on Wednesday 

The Montgomery County DA at the time was Bruce Castor, who went on to become one of Trump's impeachment lawyers. He said that he wouldn't charge Cosby and he encouraged Andrea Constand to pursue civil action instead

Over the next ten years, multiple women come forward in the press and civil lawsuits to accuse him but it wasn't until 2015 that he was charged. 

He was charged two weeks before the statute of limitations would have rendered Constand's claims expired. 

All of the other claims are too old to be prosecuted.

In 2018, he was convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to between three and ten years behind bars. 

Constand testified at his trial along with five others who spoke about their own allegations against him. 

Those women were  Chelan Lasha, Janice Baker Kinney, Janice Dickinson, Lise-Lottw Lublin and Heidi Thomas.  

When Cosby, 83, was sentenced for his crimes against Constand, the other accusers seized it as their own justice too. 

The disgraced comedian always fought his conviction, despite admitting in a deposition that he used Quaaludes on women, without their knowledge, with the hope of later having sex with them. 

TIMELINE OF THE CASE AGAINST COSBY

2004: Andrea Constand visits Cosby at his home and claims he drugs then sexually assaults her 

2005: Constand goes to the police with her claim and it becomes public that an investigation is underway 

FEB 17, 2005: Then Montgomery Co. DA Bruce Castor announces that after investigating her claims, he's not going to charge Cosby because he doesn't think there's evidence 

He encourages Constand to pursue civil action, to 'seek some justice' 

MARCH 2005: Constand sues Cosby and in civil depositions, he admits using quaaludes on women without their knowledge 

2005-2015: Dozens of women come forward in the media to claim Cosby assaulted them but no charges are brought 

DEC. 30, 2015:  Cosby is arrested, two weeks before the statute of limitations would have expired the case 

JUNE 5, 2017: First trial begins with only testimony from two women 

JUNE 17, 2017: Jury is deadlocked, mistrial declared

APRIL 2018: Second trial begins

APRIL 26: Cosby is convicted on 3 counts 

SEPTEMBER 25: Cosby is sentenced to between three and 10 years

DECEMBER: Cosby files a first appeal but it is rejected, his conviction is upheld  

JUNE 2020: PA Supreme Court says it'll hear his appeal 

JUNE 2021: Supreme Court overturns Cosby's conviction, he is freed immediately 

He was sentenced to between three and ten years but he vowed to serve the full ten because anything less would have required him to express remorse.  

Now, lawyers from other trials may seize on the Cosby decision to undo their client's convictions. 

One recent notable case where prosecutors used other witnesses to describe a pattern of behavior rather than testify about a specific crime was that of Harvey Weinstein. 

He fought to exclude other women's testimony from his trial. 

Another is the actor Cuba Gooding Jr., who was charged for a handful of crimes after women allegedly involved in multiple other incidents testified to prosecutors.  

The law allows the testimony only in limited cases, including to show a crime pattern so specific it serves to identify the perpetrator.

In Cosby's case, one of his appellate lawyers said prosecutors put on vague evidence about the uncharged conduct, including Cosby´s own recollections in his deposition about giving women alcohol or Quaaludes before sexual encounters. 

'The presumption of innocence just didn´t exist for him,' Jennifer Bonjean, the lawyer, argued to the court in December.

Prosecutors said Cosby repeatedly used his fame and 'family man' persona to manipulate young women, holding himself out as a mentor before betraying them.

Cosby, a groundbreaking Black actor who grew up in public housing in Philadelphia, made a fortune estimated at $400 million during his 50 years in the entertainment industry. 

His trademark clean comedy and homespun wisdom fueled popular TV shows, books and standup acts.

He fell from favor in his later years as he lectured the Black community about family values, but was attempting a comeback when he was arrested.

'There was a built-in level of trust because of his status in the entertainment industry and because he held himself out as a public moralist,' Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Jappe, of suburban Montgomery County, argued to the justices.

Cosby had invited Constand to an estate he owns in Pennsylvania the night she said he drugged and sexually assaulted her.

Cosby's wife Camille always stood by him, insisting he was innocent. 

In her most recent interview, after the state Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal, she said: 'My first reaction is hopefulness, possibilities. The state's highest court … has said, 'Wait a minute. 

'There are some problems here. They can be considered for an appeal." I'm very, very pleased.' 

Andrea Constand is the woman Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting at his Pennsylvania home in 2008. Her allegations against Cosby were the only ones that could be prosecuted because they were just inside of the state's statute of limitations