Harvey Weinstein
Main witness must consider possible testimony
Harvey Weinstein on his way to court in February 2020.
© ddp images
If the Weinstein case is reopened in New York, it could happen that one of the key witnesses will not testify again.
An appeals court recently handed down a conviction Harvey Weinstein (72) lifted in New York. The former film mogul, who was also convicted in Los Angeles, is scheduled to appear in court in Manhattan shortly. If there is a new trial, one of the main witnesses at the time, Miriam Haley, might no longer be able to testify, as US media reports.
New hearing next Wednesday
Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. However, an appeals court recently overturned the verdict because, in its opinion, there had been a procedural error. The court then illegally allowed statements from other women who made equally serious allegations against Weinstein. However, the statements were not part of the lawsuit. According to US media, Weinstein must now appear in court for a new hearing on May 1st.
The public prosecutor’s office is seeking a new trial and would like to stand up for the victims. “We will do everything in our power to retry this case and remain steadfast in our commitment to sexual assault survivors,” said Emily Tuttle from the DA’s office quoted by “CNN”, among others.
If the case is actually retried on the US East Coast, the women for whose allegations the former film producer was convicted at the time may have to testify again. However, Haley had one on Friday, according to one Report from the industry magazine “Variety” explains that she has to consider whether she wants to take the witness stand again.
“This isn’t just about me”
During a press conference with her lawyer, she said that she wanted to avoid the torture of another trial, but that there were also broader questions at stake: “This isn’t just about me. It’s a really important case. It’s in the public eye .” It is difficult for her personally, but also important for the general public.
The statement at the time was more difficult for her than parts of the public think: “Especially after so many years, it was retraumatizing, grueling and exhausting… I definitely don’t want to go through that again.” But to do the right thing, she would consider it “because that’s what happened.”
When the verdict was overturned, Haley became nauseous. She still has to process her feelings at the moment. “Our job is to put the experiences and well-being of survivors at the center of every decision we make, and we will do that as we approach the next steps in this case,” prosecutors said.
Weinstein was once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. The scandal surrounding the former film mogul that emerged in 2017 led to the spread of the #MeToo movement, with which women drew attention to sexual assault. Despite the overturning of the verdict, he remains in prison because another verdict was issued against him in Los Angeles in 2022. Weinstein insisted that he was supposedly innocent, but a jury found further sexual offenses to be proven. In early 2023, he was finally sentenced to 16 more years in prison on the West Coast.