PHILADELPHIA (NewsNation Now) — Bill Cosby says his release from prison after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction is a victory for all the wrongfully convicted currently behind bars.
Cosby made the comments during an interview Wednesday with a Philadelphia radio station.
Legal experts say the Cosby outcome is a hard lesson for prosecutors and an upsetting situation for survivors of sexual assault.
Patricia Steuer says Cosby assaulted her on two separate occasions when she was in her 20s. She also joined a lawsuit against him in 2005 as a Jane Doe filed by Andrea Constand — who Cosby was convicted of assaulting before that was overturned.
Steuer said she was caught off guard when she heard Cosby’s conviction was overturned.
“I was stunned. We didn’t have much warning about this,” she said. “I knew that the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court was going to hear his appeal, but none of us really expected this to come down the way it did. It feels like a loss to those of us who spent as much time and energy as we did bringing the truth forward.”
Steuer also said cases such as these seem to favor men over women.
“[I’m] angry that the laws regarding sexual assaults seem to favor men more than women, and particularly powerful and wealthy men — regardless of race.”
Despite her anger and disappointment, Steuer says she understands the judgement from a legal standpoint.
“I do believe, that from a strictly technical legal perspective, I understand the judgment that was made. We knew there was always a risk regarding the number of extra witnesses that were brought forward about [Cosby’s] prior bad acts. And it turns out that was not the thing that the judges ruled against. It was this purported agreement that existed between Mr. Caster, the district attorney, and Mr. Cosby. For which, my understanding is: There is no documentary evidence, there’s no paper trail, there is no agreement in writing…there is just their word that this occurred.”
Watch the full interview with Patricia Steuer in the player above.
