On the second day of deliberations in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial, the jury focused on more than a dozen excerpts from the comedian’s decade-old deposition, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
The jurors questioned the language used in the charges against Cosby, which included the meaning of “without her knowledge,” regarding Cosby giving the accuser sedatives, the Associated Press reported. Judge Steven O’Neill said he could not define the phrase for the jurors on Tuesday.
The jurors also asked twice to hear portions of Cosby’s initial statement after Andrea Constand, a former university employee, reported the alleged assault when he referred to the pills he gave Constand as his “three friends,” the Associated Press reported.
Cosby allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted Constand while she was the director of operations for Temple’s women’s basketball team, in 2004 in his suburban Philadelphia home. Cosby was still a trustee at the university.
Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault for the 2004 alleged assault, which could put him in prison for more than ten years.
According to the Associated Press, the prosecution was angry with the defense on Tuesday outside the courthouse because the defense released a statement from a Temple employee who was barred from testifying during the trial.
According to the Inquirer, Marguerite Jackson, the assistant director of advising for the Boyer College of Music and Dance, claimed Constand told her she was sexually assaulted in the defense’s statement. She also alleged Constand added that she could falsely accuse and “set up” the person who assaulted her to receive money. The judge previously ruled this statement would be hearsay and not allowed in court.
Cosby’s spokesperson said the comedian did not “get a fair trial” because this witness was not allowed to testify, the Inquirer reported. The prosecution said Jackson’s statement is not true.
Kelly Brennan can be reached at kelly.brennan@temple.edu or on Twitter @_kellybrennan. Follow The Temple News on Twitter @TheTempleNews.
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