According to the appeals court, the American producer’s trial in New York was not fair.
The New York Supreme Court struck down the Harvey Weinstein a 2020 verdict in a sex crime case, reports the New York Times. The case of the American producer accused by more than a hundred women led to the development of the MeToo movement.
Weinstein was previously sentenced to 23 years in prison for sexual assault. The appeals court decided 4-3 this morning to overturn the verdict due to procedural errors.
One of those mistakes, the judges said, was that the judge in Weinstein’s case allowed prosecutors to call as witnesses women who claimed to have been abused by the producer – but whose testimony was not part of the trial. The appeals court therefore concluded that Weinstein did not receive a fair trial because his trial was not only about the crimes he committed, but also about his past behavior.
After that, the New York Attorney General, Alvin L. Bragg it is up to his decision whether to start a new procedure in the case. Weinstein will not be released as a result of the decision, and will likely continue his prison sentence in California, where he was sentenced to 16 years for sexual assault.
Tags: Harvey Weinsteins conviction overturned due procedural errors
