He and his lawyers had tried several times over the years, but yesterday Harvey Weinstein was proven right: The New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the US state of New York, overturned the verdict once morest the fallen Hollywood producer, which was handed down to him, who is now 72 years old. In 2020, the year-old was sentenced to 23 years in prison for serious sexual crimes.
The court found that the judge had made a crucial error in the trial at the time: statements from witnesses were admitted which, in retrospect, were not to be classified as legitimate.
The decision was close: A panel of seven judges, four women and three men, decided 4:3 for Weinstein. It was not known yesterday whether this so-called “4:3 decision” reflects the group’s gender ratio. Weinstein’s guilty verdict in 2020 was the result of the testimony of two women. However, other witnesses were invited to the trial, whose statements helped the prosecution demonstrate a violent pattern in Weinstein’s behavior.
Weinstein remains in custody
According to the US justice system, the defendant has the right “to be held accountable only for the crime charged. Therefore, allegations of previous crimes once morest him cannot be admitted simply to demonstrate his criminal propensity,” Court of Appeals Judge Jenny Rivera said yesterday.
It is now up to the New York public prosecutor’s office to initiate another case once morest Weinstein. This means that Alvin L. Bragg, District Attorney for New York County, is no stranger: He is currently in the middle of the trial once morest former President Donald Trump. “We will do everything in our power to take action once morest Weinstein once more,” his office said.
Weinstein will remain in custody as he has to serve a 16-year sentence to which he was legally sentenced in 2022 in a rape case in Los Angeles. For Weinstein’s lawyer, yesterday’s verdict was “a tremendous victory for every defendant in New York State.”
Weinstein’s first conviction in 2020, however, was a milestone for the #MeToo movement. They were initiated by women who had raised their voices once morest him in the New York Times in 2017. The guilty verdict was a sign to women around the world that they are heard and seen by the system. The reactions to the overturning of the verdict were violent and intense
Hollywood star Ashley Judd, who played a key role in publicizing Weinstein’s assaults, says the repeal “is unfair to all survivors.” But they all still knew what the truth was. “And we know what happened.”
Katherine Kendall, one of the actresses who came forward with allegations once morest Weinstein, said the overturning of the verdict was “a terrible reminder that victims of sexual violence simply don’t get justice. I feel completely let down by the legal system.”
The repeal and reactions reflect a discrepancy that #MeToo is increasingly exposing in legal systems around the world.
In other words: A hundred women in the USA have publicly said that Weinstein sexually assaulted them. Now the verdict in one case keeps him in custody.
