Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction overturned by New York appeals court
Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for rape has been overturned, with a New York court ordering a new trial in the landmark “MeToo” case.
The state’s highest court found the judge at the trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that were not part of the case.
In a 4-3 decision, it was decided Weinstein had not received a fair trial, with the court’s majority saying it was “an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behaviour”.
One of the judges who voted against the decision, Judge Madeline Singas, said the majority was “whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative”.
She said the Court of Appeals was continuing a “disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence”.
Ms Singas added: “The majority’s determination perpetuates outdated notions of sexual violence and allows predators to escape accountability.”
The ruling by the Court of Appeals will mean a painful chapter in reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures looks likely to be reopened.
It was an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against the film producer dating back to the 1970s.
Read more: Harvey Weinstein: The fall of the king of Hollywood
Weinstein‘s accusers could again be forced to relive their traumas on the witness stand.
The 72-year-old has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison after being accused of sexually assaulting ex-production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 following the landmark 2020 trial.
However, he will remain behind bars as he was also sentenced last year in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for raping and sexually assaulting an actress in a Beverly Hills Hotel.
The Los Angeles conviction is not affected by Thursday’s decision in New York.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg – who is already involved in a hush money trial against former president Donald Trump – will now decide whether Weinstein will receive a retrial.
A spokesperson for Mr Bragg said in an email: “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”
Weinstein will remain in prison with a separate LA conviction still standing. Pic: Reuters
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in 2020
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer who represented eight of Weinstein’s accusers said Thursday’s decision was a “major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence”, adding: “It will require the victims to endure yet another trial.”
Arthur Aidala, a lawyer for Weinstein, said the decision was a victory for the defendant and any American charged with a crime, “no matter how popular or unpopular they are”.
Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, condemned the decision as an “act of institutional betrayal” to survivors of male sexual violence.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ashley Judd: ‘This is an act of institutional betrayal’
Speaking at a press conference in New York, Judd said she was trying to get the UN involved as she advocates for Convention 190 which concerns the elimination of all forms of harassment and violence in the world of work.
Once considered the most powerful man in Hollywood, Weinstein was accused by dozens of women claiming he bullied, pressured, coerced, or overpowered them while demanding sexual favours.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, and Lupita Nyong’o were some who accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, while actresses Asia Argento and Rose McGowan were among others who accused him of raping them.
He was also accused of reaching settlements to keep the stories quiet.
Weinstein had admitted his behaviour had “caused a lot of pain”, but has maintained his innocence throughout, saying any sexual activity was consensual.
The glut of allegations sparked #MeToo, a movement where alleged victims of sexual assault increasingly publicised their experiences, and many came forward against high-profile figures, especially in the entertainment industry.
The #MeToo movement led to other victims speaking out. Pic: Reuters
Some states, including New York, California and New Jersey, responded to the campaign by passing laws that let women bring civil lawsuits seeking damages for sexual misconduct that occurred many years earlier even if the time limit had already passed.
But the stunning reversal of Weinstein’s conviction is the movement’s second major setback in the past two years after the US Supreme Court refused to hear prosecutors’ pleas to undo Bill Cosby’s 2018 sexual assault conviction that was overturned in 2021.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Weinstein co-founded the entertainment company Miramax in 1979 whose hit movies included Pulp Fiction, Flirting With Disaster and Shakespeare In Love.
He was ousted from his now-defunct firm, The Weinstein Company, in 2017 after the New York Times reported nearly 30 years of rape and sexual harassment allegations against him.
This will only be Vladimir Putin’s second visit to North Korea.
The first was soon after he assumed office in 2000, nearly a quarter of a century ago.
That’s a long time to wait for a return trip. Was it the hospitality? Or did he just have better options elsewhere?
Either way, it’s very much a case of beggars can’t be choosers right now, with Tuesday’s visit highlighting both Russia’s isolation from the West and the blossoming friendship between these two pariah states.
What does North Korea offer Russia? A lot more than camaraderie. According to the US and others, it’s supplying the Kremlin with weapons and ammunition to use in Ukraine.
In an interview with Bloomberg recently, South Korea’s defence minister said the North had sent nearly five million artillery shells to Russia since September, as well as dozens of ballistic missiles.
Moscow and Pyongyang both deny the accusation but UN monitors claim to have seen evidence. In January, they concluded the remnants of a missile fired from Russia on Kherson was that of a North Korea-made Kwasong-11 series.
Kyiv claims there are several more examples.
For North Korea, the closer ties are a big win. As well as food and fuel, analysts say Russia has provided the poverty-stricken nation with much-needed economic aid and diplomatic support.
In March, for example, Russia vetoed the UN resolution to renew the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring sanctions enforcement.
It’s also assumed Moscow is supplying some technical know-how for Pyongyang’s space and satellite programmes, after President Putin hosted Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east last September.
The stronger ties between the two is a major concern for the West and its Asian allies.
Read more world news:
17 dead after two shipwrecks off Italian coast
Body of American man found on Greek island
Germany seizes 35.5 tonnes of cocaine
Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, with then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang in July 2000. Pic: AP
These are two leaders who like to warn how their fingers are poised over the red button. The primary fear in Washington and Seoul is that Russia could start supplying some of its nuclear know-how and missile technology, on top of the other assistance.
The Russian leader’s entourage for the visit certainly raises eyebrows. It includes his new defence minister Andrei Belousov as well as Denis Manutrov, the deputy prime minister responsible for defence.
The official line from the Kremlin is that there’s nothing to see here – yes, we might sign a security agreement, but it won’t be directed against any other country.
Russia’s “right” to develop good relationships with its neighbours “should not be of concern to anyone”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Behind the scenes, though, they will no doubt delight in the disquiet the visit is causing.
It’s very much a diplomatic two-fingers to the West, which may bring tangible geopolitical benefits too.
If South Korea is considering providing weapons to Ukraine, for example, this might make them think twice about it.
World
South Korea fires more warning shots at North Korean soldiers crossing DMZ as landmines explode
At least 11 people have died and dozens are missing after two ships were wrecked off the coast of southern Italy.
A rescue ship run by a German aid group picked up 51 people thought to be migrants from a sinking wooden vessel in the first of two shipwrecks.
RESQSHIP said two of the 51 were unconscious and had to be “cut free with an axe”.
Ten bodies were found trapped on the wooden ship’s flooded lower deck near the island of Lampedusa, the organisation added. No one is believed to be missing.
“Our thoughts are with their families. We are angry and sad,” it wrote on X.
Those on board came from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Organisation for Migration and UNICEF said in a joint statement.
The survivors were handed over to the Italian coast guard and taken ashore, RESQSHIP said.
Its own ship, the Nadir, towed the wooden boat containing the bodies of the deceased to the island of Lampedusa.
A wooden boat got into difficulty off Lampedusa and floated towards the Libyan coast. Pic: RESQSHIP
The second shipwreck took place about 125 miles east of the Italian region of Calabria, after a yacht that had set off from Turkey eight days earlier caught fire and overturned, UN agencies said.
Twelve migrants were picked up, the Italian coastguard said.
A woman among them who is thought to have fallen into the water died immediately after landing.
The others are in a serious condition, Vittorio Zito, mayor of the town of Roccella said.
The survivors said 66 people were missing, including 26 children, “some of them very young”, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in Roccella told Sky News.
It is likely that entire families from Afghanistan lost their lives, the medical organisation added.
The yacht may have been taking on water for three or four days, while those on board were not wearing life jackets, MSF said.
Some passing vessels did not stop to help, survivors said.
Migrants involved in the shipwreck off Calabria came from Iran, Iraq and Syria, agencies added.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
A French vessel heard a mayday call in the Italian search and rescue area.
The Italian Coast Guard sent several units to the scene and took 12 people, including a pregnant woman and two children, to Roccella.
Two Coast Guard patrol boats are searching for survivors, while an aircraft has also been deployed.
EU border agency Frontex is also involved.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports8 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company