Weinstein partly guilty again in a new process

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty again in a re-rolled criminal trial-but only partially. After several days of consultation, the jury saw that the 73-year-old once committed serious sexual crimes on a woman, said the court in New York, according to US media reports.

In another indictment of the severe sexual crimes against a second woman, the jury was not guilty. The twelve jurors could not agree in a third indictment of the rape of a third woman.

The judge then asked them to continue advice on this point. In the past few days, there have been reports of discrepancies and disagreements within the jury.

The guilty verdict of 2020 was collected

An appellate court in the state of New York surprisingly collected the original guilty verdict against Weinstein from 2020 due to rape and criminal sexual acts and the prison sentence of 23 years in the past year – due to considerable procedural errors.

The central point of criticism was the approval of several testimonies that were not the subject of the formal charges and thus illegally influenced the judgment of the jury.

The process was then re -rolled up and again took up the central charges. The indictment was based on the statements of three women in the process of about six weeks.

They described how they got to know Weinstein in the film industry at a young age and had hopes for a career – and then used his power as a leading film producer as a means of pressure for sexual assault. Two of the women had already testified in the first trial, and this time there was a third main witness.

Shaking allegations – or doubts about credibility?

The women described in sometimes shocking and emotional statements how the Oscar -winning producer used his position in the film industry to press them. Weinstein himself decided against a statement. The defense invited only a few of their own witnesses, but tried to sow doubts about the credibility of the witnesses.

Regardless of the outcome of the process in New York, Weinstein remains in custody. In 2023 he was sentenced to 16 more years in California in a separate criminal proceedings. The indictment also accused him of sexual attacks there. His defense has also appealed against this judgment.

Weinstein’s health was the subject of public discussions during the entire process. According to his lawyers, the 73-year-old suffers from several chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems. According to media reports, a leukemia diagnosis was recently confirmed. Judge Curtis Farber allowed him to spend the time in the hospital during the trial.

What the judgment means for the Metoo movement

The allegations against Weinstein arose in 2017 and were considered the trigger of the global metoo movement against male abuse of power and sexual assault. Since then, more than 80 women had publicly explained that the once powerful film producer (« Pulp Fiction », « Gangs of New York ») had exploited his position for sexual assault.

The first guilty verdict was celebrated in many circles as social progress and legal milestone because the statements of the witnesses were sufficient even without clear material evidence to convince the jury of Weinstein’s guilt. Even the United Nations spoke of an “important turning point” in persecution of violence against women.

The cancellation of the conviction shocked many Metoo supporting, but the media attention for the new edition of the process was far behind that of the first procedure.

The cultural change initiated with the case with progress in strengthening women’s rights, however, is largely unaffected by the legal decision.