Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction has been thrown out by Pennsylvania's highest court

• Bill Cosby has been released from prison after his sexual assault conviction was thrown out.
• The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the lead prosecutor shouldn't have charged Cosby due to a deal made by a predecessor.
• "This is amazing news," a spokesperson for Cosby told Insider in a brief interview.

Bill Cosby will be released from prison after his conviction for sexual assault was thrown out Wednesday by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, the Associated Press reported.

Cosby, 83, was serving a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated indecent assault after being convicted in the 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand.

Constand declined to comment through her attorney.

Cosby was released from prison at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

The Pennsylvania court found that Cosby's rights were violated when he was told testimony in a civil lawsuit filed by Constand wouldn't be used to prosecute him, which it later was.

The court found that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who arrested Cosby, should have followed his predecessor's promise not to charge Cosby.

"This is amazing news. We're excited and we want to thank the Pennsylvania Supreme Court," Andrew Wyatt, a spokesperson for Cosby, told Insider.

Wyatt told TMZ in a separate interview Wednesday that Cosby "had no clue" he was set for release before the announcement.

The decision comes after Cosby was recently denied parole for refusing to take part in a therapy program meant for sex offenders.

Laura Treaster, a spokeswoman for the state parole board, told Reuters in late May that Cosby's petition for parole was denied because he hasn't completed his sexual violent predator therapy, and that he needs to create a "parole release plan."

Cosby began his jail sentence in September 2018.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele acknowledged Cosby's release in a statement Wednesday.

"The majority decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court orders the release of William H. Cosby Jr. from state prison," Steele said. "He was found guilty by a jury and now goes free on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime."

He added: "My hope is that this decision will not dampen the reporting of sexual assaults by victims. Prosecutors in my office will continue to follow the evidence wherever and to whomever it leads."

The accusations against the "Cosby Show" star and comedian resurfaced in 2014, after a video taken of comedian Hannibal Burress telling his audience that Cosby was a "rapist" went viral.

The incident brought renewed attention on a lawsuit filed against Cosby by Andrea Constand in 2005, in which Constand said the star had drugged her and sexually assaulted her.

Within two years of Buress' viral comedy set, more than 50 women came forward to accuse Cosby of also drugging and sexually assaulting them. A criminal investigation into the allegations made by Constand was re-opened, leading to a trial and conviction of Cosby for aggravated indecent assault.