In 2020, disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted of felony sex crimes.
Then on April 25, the New York Supreme Court overturned that conviction in a 4-3 decision. According to the court, the judge presiding over the trial made a grave mistake when “allowing prosecutors to call as witnesses a series of women who said Mr. Weinstein had assaulted them — but whose accusations were not part of the charges against him,” the New York Times reports.
Now, Weinstein’s lawyer has revealed that the former producer has been hospitalized as he is a “train wreck health wise,” E! News reports.
Accoring to reports, Weinstein was transferred to a medical ward in New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex on April 26. The following day it was decided that he should be transferred again to “Bellevue Hospital for a more thorough exam,” NBC News reports.
“It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically,” his attorney Arthur Aidala told NBC News. “He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise.”
Weinstein is set to appear in court on May 1.
According to NYT reporter Jan Ransom, three women identified as Lauren Young, Dawn Dining, and Tamale Wulff, testified during the trial explaining their experience with Weinstein. Ransom reports that the women were allowed to testify under a state law that “allows testimony about ‘prior bad acts’ to demonstrate a pattern of behavior.”
However, New York’s highest court said in their decision that “under our system of justice, the accused has a right to be held to account only for the crime charged.”
It is now up to prosecutors to decide whether or not to order a new trial.
In a statement from Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala given to The Times, he said he was looking for a suit to donate when his wife shared the news that they “won Weinstein.”
“This is not just a victory for Mr. Weinstein, but for every criminal defendant in the state of New York, and we compliment the Court of Appeals for upholding the most basic principles that a criminal defendant should have in a trial,” Aidala told The New York Times.
“This happened 10 minutes ago,” he continued. “He doesn’t even know yet.”
Ashley Judd, the first actress to come forward, accusing Weinstein of heinous acts, told NYT reporter Jodi Kantor, “That is unfair to survivors. We still live in our truth. And we know what happened.”
This is a developing report.