cosby trial

Bill Cosby Juror: Lack of ‘Substantial Evidence’ Prevented a Verdict

Most of the 12 jurors in the Bill Cosby trial have shied away from talking to the media, but now that a judge has revealed their names, one has agreed to speak about the trial on air. In an interview with Good Morning America, Bobby Dugan, 21, has given a detailed description of the mood during deliberations. Dugan says that jurors deliberated for 52 hours because they didn’t want to quit early on, but that ultimately lack of “substantial evidence” was to blame for the mistrial. “We all said it a million times in the room, if there was other evidence, more substantial evidence, we would’ve had a better verdict than deadlocked,” he says. While Dugan personally believed Cosby was guilty based on a second listen to the 2005 deposition where Cosby said he wouldn’t use the word “consent” to describe his actions, he says deliberations became about “he said, she said.” (Dugan won’t, however, say how he voted.) “What it really comes down to is who you gonna believe more? That’s all it was,” he says.

The division in the small room, combined with being sequestered, Dugan says, led to a moment during the fifth day of deliberations where at least four jurors were brought to tears and another left to pace outside the room. He claims Cosby’s fame also weighed on the jurors: “If it was an average Joe, [deliberations] probably wouldn’t have taken as long.” Although another juror has suggested they were leaning toward conviction, Dugan says the jurors, who still talk, have vowed not to reveal the specifics of their vote to avoid swaying another jury in a potential retrial.

Bill Cosby Juror: Lack of Evidence Prevented a Verdict