The film producer’s legal team Harvey Weinsteinwhose sentence to 23 years in prison for rape was annulled this Thursday by a New York Court of Appeals, stated that This judicial decision represents “a great day for America (USA)”.
“Today’s court ruling is a great day for America (…) We knew he hadn’t had a fair trial. It is also a victory for all criminal defendants in the state of New York,” said Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lawyer, at a press conference outside the courthouse in Manhattan (New York).
The court’s ruling, which represents a significant setback for the victims due to its symbolism in serving as trigger of the #MeToo movement in 2017, it was based on the fact that for his 2020 verdict the judge improperly called as witnesses several women who claimed to be victims, when their testimonies were not part of the facts judged.
After a controversial 4-3 vote, Judge Jenny Rivera noted that “the remedy” is to hold a new trial. A vision applauded by Aidala, who described the judge as an “authentic heroine of women”, since, according to him, “you cannot condemn someone based on the story of her entire life.”
Weinstein “was dying to tell his story from day one (…) He wants to go to trial again and get on the witness stand this time,” Aidala concluded.
Weinstein, 72, He serves two prison sentences in a Mohawk prison (New York state), one 23 years old and the other 16 years old, in both cases for crimes related to sexual abuse, so today’s annulment would not mean in principle their release, but rather their possible transfer to California to serve the second sentence, because the second trial was held there.
In this sense, Jennifer Bonjean, also Weinstein’s lawyer, revealed this Thursday that The producer plans to appeal his conviction of California on May 20 with the conviction that “these illegitimate evidence that tainted the trial” will work in their favor in the Golden State.
The Manhattan prosecutor’s office has already expressed its displeasure, and in a statement from its spokesperson, Emily Tuttle, said: “We will do everything in our power to retry the caseand we remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”
For her part, actress Katherine Kendall, one of the more than 100 women accused of sexual crimes Throughout his career, he has stated that “even if (Weinstein) were free, his name will always be synonymous with sexual assault.”
