Cosby case ends with mistrial

Comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault case was declared a mistrial Saturday when the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision after six days of deliberations.

Cosby was charged with three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault and pleaded not guilty on all counts, offering fewer than 10 minutes defense in court. He was permitted to leave court following the mistrial declaration, but that freedom may be short-lived: Prosecutors can choose to retry the case, though a representative of the district attorney's office says that will not happen immediately.

Jurors reported they were deadlocked Thursday after more than 30 hours of debate, but at that point the judge ordered them to continue deliberating. Read The Week's Lili Loofbourow on why America paid so little attention to the trial here.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up