Sunday, April 28, 2024

Poor bastard can't catch a break


Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital after transferring to Rikers Island jail ahead of court appearance

Harvey Weinstein arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court in 2020.Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images

By Minyvonne Burke and Adam Reiss

Harvey Weinstein was hospitalized Saturday for a battery of tests after returning to Rikers Island jail ahead of a court appearance next week.

The 72-year-old former Hollywood powerhouse was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for a more thorough exam after he was checked out by doctors at Rikers, his attorney, Arthur Aidala, said.

Aidala said it seems Weinstein "needs a lot of help, physically."

"He’s got a lot of problems," Aidala said. "He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck healthwise."

On Friday, he was transferred from Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 42 miles from Syracuse, New York, to a medical ward at Rikers in New York City and is scheduled to appear before a judge after New York’s highest court overturned his 2020 rape conviction.

Weinstein was serving a 23-year sentence at Mohawk after he was found guilty of forcibly performing oral sex on a television and film production assistant in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013.

He will appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. before Judge Curtis Farber.




In a shocking 4-3 decision Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein's conviction after it found that the judge in the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the former film mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.

The court said it "erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts" and the "testimony served no material non-propensity purpose."

Although the conviction was overturned, Weinstein remained in prison after he was convicted in 2022 in Los Angeles of rape. He was acquitted of a count of sexual battery in that case. Weinstein has filed a notice to appeal that verdict as well.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Thursday that it would do "everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault."

In an updated statement Friday, the district attorney's office said its mission was to "center survivors’ experiences and wellbeing in every decision we make, which we will do as we approach the next steps in this case."

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