Harvey Weinstein's accusers on overturned conviction: “Deeply unfair”

On the morning of this Thursday, April 25, the New York Court of Appeals, canceled the conviction for rape of Harvey Weinstein en 2020. In a 4-3 rulingthe court found that the judge at Weinstein's trial had shown prejudice by allowing women to testify about accusations that were not part of the case. The court has now ordered a new trial.

The reaction of his accusers was immediate, and they have criticized the decision to overturn his rape conviction as “deeply unjust” and a “huge step backwards.”

In a press release, the group of survivors called Silence Breakers said (via Variety):

“Today's news is not only discouraging, it is deeply unfair. But this failure does not diminish the validity of our experiences or our truth; It's just a setback.. The man convicted continues serving his sentence in a California prison. When survivors around the world broke their silence in 2017, the world changed. We continue to stand firm and advocate for that change. “We will continue to fight for justice for survivors everywhere.”

Louise Gobold, one of Weinstein's accusers, told the source:

“Sometimes it seems as if the legal system operates in a parallel universe. Everyone knows that Harvey is a sexual predator and that he harmed countless women. And yet today his conviction was overturned in New York. People are assuring us this morning that he still has to serve his sentence in Los Angeles, but that doesn't stop me from shaking with surprise and indignation.”

The 2020 trial marked a historic moment in the #MeToo movement, which began with accusations against him in 2017, with articles published in the New York Times, and later in the New Yorker.

Former Hollywood producer Weinstein is serving a 23-year sentence at the Mohawk Correctional Center, a medium-security prison in Rome, New York. He will remain incarcerated, as he was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison. However, Weinstein was acquitted at the Los Angeles trial of charges involving a woman who testified in her New York case.