Harvey Weinstein hospitalised after court order new trial over rape conviction
Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalised in New York City shortly after a court of appeals overturned his 2020 rape conviction. Weinstein is currently in hospital to undergo a series of health tests.
The new court ruling has stated that the judge who oversaw Weinstein’s criminal case had prejudiced the former movie producer with improper rulings by allowing women whose claims were not deemed part of the case to testify against him.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, recently spoke of his client’s hospitalisation and stated, “They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of [physical help]. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health-wise.”
Aidala had reportedly spoken to Weinstein on April 27th when he was being transported from an upstate New York jail to the Department of Correction shortly after the appeals court’s ruling.
According to the lawyer, Weinstein’s health problems are physical, and his mental faculties are “sharp as a tack”. Aidala noted, though, that Weinstein has been poorly treated in jail, calling him a “72-year-old sickly man”.
Weinstein suffers from a number of health issues, including cardiac problems, diabetes, sleep apnea and eye problems, according to his legal team, who also claim that he has lost four teeth during his time in prison.
Last week, Weinstein’s rape conviction was overturned by a court in New York. They stated, “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes. The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.”
The majority of the court added, “It is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behaviour that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them.”
Aidala pointed out that Weinstein was unable to testify because three women themselves had testified against the former producer, despite their allegations not being properly considered part of the overall case.
As of yet, a date for a re-trial has not been set. Despite Weinstein’s conviction being overturned in New York, he will remain in jail, seeing as he was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles in 2022. The original sentencing was for 16 years.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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