The court’s ruling is based on the fact that the judge improperly called several women who claimed to have been victims of the producer to testify as witnesses, when the accusations they made were not part of the facts judged.
The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the conviction of film producer Harvey Weinsten for errors in the 2020 judicial process that punished him with 23 years in prison and signified the birth of the #MeToo movement.
The court’s ruling, which cannot be appealed, is based on the fact that the judge improperly called several women who claimed to have been victims of the producer to testify as witnesses, when the accusations they made were not part of the facts judged.
“The remedy to these enormous errors is a new trial,” the ruling states.
Weinstein, 72, is serving two prison terms in a New York prison, one for 23 years and the other for 16 years, both for crimes related to sexual abuse.
Weinstein was convicted in 2020 after several women accused him of sexual harassment or assault over the years, guilty of sexually abusing production assistant Miriam Haley and raping Jessica Mann, who wanted to be an actress.
Later in 2023, the Los Angeles County Superior Court sentenced him to another 16 years in prison for rape and sexual abuse of an Italian actress and model in February 2013.
That first trial, now annulled, opened the spigot to an American, then global, movement, baptized as #MeToo, and which consisted of public testimonies of women who claimed to have been victims of sexual abuse in the world of entertainment and in work environments in general.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has already expressed its displeasure, and in a statement from its spokeswoman, Emily Tuttle, has said, “We will do everything in our power to retry the case, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”
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