AMERICA’S largest anti-sexual violence organization has issued a warning to the Manhattan district attorney after Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned in New York on Thursday.
The New York Court of Appeals overturned the disgraced 72-year-old’s conviction in a shocking 4-3 verdict claiming it was an unfair trial due to a mistake by the judge who oversaw the case over four years ago.
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The majority ruled that Weinstein’s 2020 verdict had to be thrown out because prosecutors called on multiple women who alleged assault but were not the direct subject of the allegations for which he was on trial.
This cross-examination unfairly saw the disgraced Pulp Fiction producer in a “highly prejudicial” light, according to the appeals court.
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the country, immediately issued a press release following the news calling the overturning a “horrible decision” that fails to “protect due process.”
“It upends justice for the survivors of his crimes,” RAINN added before vowing to “stand by the survivors who bravely testified against Weinstein and are now seeing that bravery turned into a legal loophole.”
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‘JUSTICE IS UNDONE’
RAINN president and founder Scott Berkowitz spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun following the bombshell news about the conviction which was seen as a major success of the #MeToo era.
He warned that while Thursday’s decision will hopefully see the tide turn once again in a #MeToo 2.0 style, it will make it harder for survivors of sexual assault and rape to secure convictions.
They did everything right and through no fault of their own […] it was all for naught
Scott Berkowitz
Berkowitz issued a message to the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, who now must decide about a re-trial following what he called a “disappointing” decision to overturn the verdict.
“I have a message to the district attorney – You really need to stand up here and make this a priority to retry this case,” the RAINN founder said.
“Justice is undone and we’ve gotta do it again and, it’s gonna be hard.
“I’m grateful to survivors who are going to be asked back up and go through it all again. Justice in this case is so important.”
It is vital because prosecutors will now face a tougher challenge to make already challenging cases stick.
Two-thirds of cases are not even being reported to the police, according to Berkowitz.
“It’s gonna make some prosecutors hesitate before they pursue cases where testimony of a pattern of abuse is valuable,” he said.
“The rates of prosecution are abysmal.
“But we gotta keep trying. One thing that the data has shown us consistently is that like [with] Weinstein, it is actually pretty common that people who commit rape are serial criminals, they do it over and over and over until they get caught and stopped.
“So, we’ve got to keep trying because that’s gonna be the most effective way to really reduce the number of rapes in the world.”
‘DISTURBING TREND’
With a mixture of emotions, Berkowitz said that he is hopeful that with the issue back in the public eye, there will be more support for survivors of sexual assault and rape.
“Whenever there’s a really big case, like, Harvey or Bill Cosby…I do think it gets the public’s attention and, motivates them to donate to organizations, to volunteer, to act, to write letters to members of Congress to do anything they can to make a difference,” he said.
“I’m hopeful that it will [get more support], that it will anger people and motivate them to, want to do something so that decisions like these are less likely in the future.”
How Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement
In October 2017, The New York Times published a bombshell article where numerous actresses alleged abuse at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.
Soon after, the actress Alyssa Milano asked women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed to share the words “Me Too” on social media.
The request quickly became a movement – with actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uma Thurman all sharing their harrowing stories.
It was later revealed that “Me Too” was first used by activity Tarana Burke in 2006 to describe her sexual assault.
The media firestorm led to many media executives losing their positions, alongside backlash over whether the accusations were being properly investigated.
Weinstein remained at the center of it all and was one of the few who was hit with criminal charges.
A top executive who produced films like Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, and The Lord of the Rings, activist felt he was the perfect representation of how power and influence could be used for evil.
New York Judge Madeline Singas expressed her frustrations with Thursday’s ruling noting that there is a “disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence.”
While Berkowitz agrees with the damage of the overturning, he noted that “progress had not been a linear path” and that there is hope.
“It’s a lot of two steps forward, one step back along the way and it’s unfortunate that it goes that way,” he said.
“But, I think that when the allegations first came out about Cosby or first came out about Weinstein, there was a lot of public skepticism about the truth of them.
“I think that’s gone now. I don’t think there are many people in the country or in the world who believe that Harvey Weinstein is an innocent guy.
“So, despite the legal setbacks, you know, I think we are making progress in public understanding of just how terrible these crimes are.”
Berkowitz’s overall message is to just keep going and try and try again until justice prevails.
‘CONSOLATION’
Despite Thursday’s bombshell decision, Weinstein, who has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison, will remain behind bars.
He still has to serve a 16-year sentence handed to him by a Los Angeles court for the rape of a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel.
While the latest decision will be a shock for Weinstein’s victims, Berkowitz hopes that the outstanding conviction will be “some consolation.”
Will Weinstein stay in prison?
As the District Attorney considers a re-trial, what will happen to Weinstein?
On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals decided Weinstein didn’t receive a fair trial in a stunning 4-3 decision.
This overturned a 2020 rape conviction that sentenced Weinstein to 23 years in prison.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney said their office “will do everything in our power to retry” Weinstein.
Weinstein is currently serving out his sentence in an upstate New York prison.
However, he won’t be free any time soon.
He was also found guilty of rape by a Los Angeles court in 2022 and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
“It’s frustrating to know that they did everything right and through no fault of their own it, it was all, at least for the moment, it was all for naught,” Berkowitz said.
“But, I think, for many survivors, it will really motivate them to want to try again because they, the injustice here is so clear.
“It is incredibly hard for survivors to go through this but in the end, you know, it can make such a big difference and fortunately, in the interim, Weinstein is still going to be in prison for the California conviction.
“I hope it’s some consolation,” he added, noting that survivors in other cases found meaning in the successful convictions of their attackers, even if it was not for the crimes committed personally against them.
“I’ve heard from survivors that just knowing they were caught and held responsible for that action, even though it wasn’t in their personal case is meaningful to them and does make a difference.”
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