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Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was recently overturned, but the one-time movie mogul remains in jail after being separately convicted in Los Angeles.
Published On 28 Apr 2024
Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalised days after his 2020 rape conviction in New York was overturned, his lawyer says.
Weinstein, 72, who remains in jail after being separately convicted of rape in Los Angeles, was moved to the Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on Saturday for tests, Authur Aidala said.
“It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health-wise,” Aidala told The Associated Press news agency.
Weinstein was moved on Friday to the Rikers Island jail complex from the Mohawk Correctional Facility where he had been since 2023.
The one-time movie executive’s lawyers have previously said he was ailing with a variety of afflictions, including cardiac issues, diabetes, sleep apnea, and eye problems. In 2020, he spent five days in hospital for heart problems and chest pains.
Bombshell allegations against the Oscar-winning producer broke into the open in 2017, leading to a flood of allegations against other powerful men as women fought back against sexual violence in what became known as the #MeToo movement.
At his trial in 2020, Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, in 2013. He was jailed for 23 years.
Last week, however, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein’s conviction and called for a new trial on the basis that the landmark trial was unfair because the judge allowed women whose accusations were not part of the charges Weinstein faced to give evidence in court.
The ruling does not affect a separate 16-year rape sentence handed down in California, for Weinstein’s assault of an Italian model and actress in a Beverly Hills hotel in 2013 – which is why the 72-year-old will remain behind bars.
Many of his accusers condemned Thursday’s decision, with actress Ashley Judd calling it “an act of institutional betrayal”.
Prosecutors said they intend to retry Weinstein on the same charges he was convicted for.
Weinstein has contended that any sexual activity was consensual. At a news conference following the overturn, Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala called the ruling “a tremendous victory for every criminal defendant in the state of New York” and said his client was ready to testify in his defence at a retrial.
“He’s been dying to tell his story from day one,” Aidala said.
At least two justices – Judge Madeline Singas and Judge Anthony Cannataro – have dissented from the opinion of the appeals court, saying it comes at the expense and safety of women.
