Harvey Weinstein has pleaded with a New York court to bring forward his retrial for sex crimes, citing his declining health and the “hell hole” conditions at Rikers Island prison.
At a Manhattan Criminal Court hearing on Wednesday, Judge Curtis Faber set Weinstein’s trial for April 15, 2025, but Weinstein, speaking from a wheelchair, expressed doubts about his survival until then. “I can’t hold on anymore.
I’m holding on because I want justice for myself and I want this to be over with,” he said.
The 72-year-old former Hollywood mogul is grappling with several medical conditions, including cancer and diabetes.
He underwent heart surgery in September and has been receiving care in a secure hospital unit.
Weinstein told the court that every day is a struggle due to his health, calling his situation a “serious emergency.”
His legal team has previously raised concerns about subpar medical care and unhygienic conditions at Rikers Island, a facility slated for closure.
Weinstein described the conditions at the infamous prison as “medieval” and noted that just that morning, a nurse had given him the wrong medication, which he only realized at the last second.
“I’m begging the court to move your date so we can have that date instead and proceed with this trial as quickly as we can and get out of this hell hole,” he urged Judge Faber.
The judge, though empathetic to Weinstein’s situation, explained he had a prior murder trial to address before his.
However, he agreed to consider advancing the trial by a week.
Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned by New York’s court of appeals, which found he did not receive a fair trial.
The decision centered on the inclusion of testimonies from women who were not part of the charges against him.
This marked a significant setback for the #MeToo movement, which began after accusations against Weinstein surfaced in 2017.
Weinstein is now being retried on charges of raping aspiring actor Jessica Mann in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006.
He also faces a new sexual assault charge involving another woman, who claims he forced oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel in 2006. Weinstein denies all accusations.
Judge Faber rejected Weinstein’s request to dismiss the new charge and reaffirmed that he would remain in custody due to a separate rape conviction in California, where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
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