New Trial Ordered for Harvey Weinstein after Conviction Overturned – Latest Update on #MeToo Movement

A New York appeals court on Thursday overturned the rape and sexual assault conviction of former Hollywood star Harvey Weinstein in 2020 in that state, and ordered a new, landmark trial. for the #MeToo movement.

The appeals court found that procedural errors were made at the New York trial of Harvey Weinstein, who was sentenced to a separate prison in Los Angeles.

The #MeToo movement against violence against women was sparked in 2017 by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein, whose influence on Hollywood was once overwhelming.

His sentence to 23 years in prison in New York in 2020 for rape and sexual assault was a boon to this movement.

But according to one of the judges of the appeal court, a testimony related to facts other than those committed against the plaintiffs was “erroneously” admitted. However, those testimonies had “painted a damaging image” of Mr Weinstein.

“A new trial is the solution to these horrific mistakes,” continued this judge, Jenny Rivera.

In total, four judges wanted to overturn this conviction and three against it.

“With this decision, the court continues to curb the ongoing consequences that survivors of sexual violence have been fighting,” wrote Judge Madeline Singas, who ruled against the decision made on Thursday.

“Women who bear the trauma of sexual violence and witness wounds are being forgotten,” she said.

Harvey Weinstein, 72, is currently in custody in a New York state prison, according to American media.

In 2023, the former producer was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles for rape and sexual assault.

He has never publicly admitted to anything but consensual relationships.

– “Step back” –

The decision made on Thursday “is a big step back”, replied the lawyer Douglas Wigdor, who represented two witnesses in the New York trial.

“Courts regularly admit evidence of non-exculpatory acts to help jurors understand matters regarding the defendant’s intentions, modus operandi or procedures,” he said.

This is a new snub to the #MeToo movement, after the conviction of Bill Cosby, the glory of American television.

Convicted of sexual assault in Pennsylvania in 2018 and in prison, he was released in June 2021 after his conviction for procedural defects was dismissed.

The films made by Harvey Weinstein have received several Oscar nominations and awards, a celebrity who has long prevented his victims from speaking out for fear of having their careers affected.

Since 2017, dozens of women, including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape. But the statute of limitations has passed in many of these cases.

The film “She Said”, released in 2022, follows the investigation of two journalists from the New York Times into the omnipotent representative, at the beginning of the avalanche of testimonies that followed.