Harvey Weinstein Has Been Behind Bars After A Guilty Conviction ( Photo Credit – Flickr )
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There are massive developments in the Harvey Weinstein Trial, and you may not like the outcome. As per reports, the New York Appeals Court has overturned a guilty conviction in connection to a 2020 rape case. The case, which was considered very crucial and was the landmark for many other cases of sexual assault in the MeToo movement, has been overturned. Netizens and activists are disappointed.
Ruling in favor of the disgraced producer, the Court’s 4-3 decision said. “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,” They continued, “The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.”
The majority of 4 in the court justified their decision by saying, “It is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them.”
Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned by New York’s highest court on April 25. The court determined that the judge during the historic #MeToo trial had prejudiced the former movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, such as allowing women to testify about allegations that were unrelated to the case.
The decision by the state Court of Appeals reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with prominent people’s sexual misconduct. This period started in 2017 with a barrage of accusations against Harvey Weinstein. His accusers might be made to repeat their accounts again on the witness stand.
Weinstein was given a 23-year sentence after being found guilty of two crimes in 2013—rape in the third degree for attacking an aspiring actress and criminal s*x act for forcing a TV and film production assistant to perform oral s*x—Weinstein, 72.
He was found guilty of a second rape in Los Angeles in 2022. And was given a 16-year prison sentence; as a result, he will remain behind bars. Regarding charges involving one of the women who testified in New York, Weinstein was found not guilty in Los Angeles. As per reports in AP, Judge James Burke’s decisions in favor of the prosecution, according to Weinstein’s attorneys, turned the trial into “1-800-GET-HARVEY.”
The once powerful media Moghul of the Oscar-winning production company Miramax was one of the most accused names during the MeToo movement, with claims going back 20 years ago. Still, the strong wind of support for this woman led to an investigation against the Pulp Fiction producer.
Netizens and Activists noted that this was the second case to be overturned after Bill Cosby’s conviction reversal. They believe that it will severely hurt the victims of sexual assault and is a significant setback for everything the movement has achieved. A date for the new trial has not yet been set yet. And Weinstein remains behind bars.
