Appellate Court Restores Conviction of Woman in Cosby Extortion Case

The federal appeals court that overturned the conviction of a woman imprisoned for trying to extort $40 million from Bill Cosby reversed itself Monday and restored her conviction.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that an improper instruction given to the jury was not sufficient to overturn the extortion conviction of Autumn Jackson.

Her lawyer, Robert Baum, said she will appeal. The written ruling means Jackson might have to return to prison for another seven months, which would separate her from 18-month-old twin boys and her husband, Baum said.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones sentenced Jackson, now 25, in December 1997 to two years in prison after she was convicted of extortion, conspiracy and crossing state lines to commit a crime. She was freed in June when her conviction was overturned.

Prosecutors said Jackson demanded money from the entertainer on Jan. 16, 1997--the day Cosby’s son Ennis, 27, was fatally shot in an apparent robbery in Los Angeles.