Weinstein asks to sleep in hospital, citing prison 'mistreatment'

Harvey Weinstein's lawyers asked Wednesday he be allowed to spend the night in the hospital during his retrial on rape charges, saying the movie mogul's health was deteriorating rapidly because of "mistreatment" in New York's notorious Rikers prison.

In papers filed with the court, a lawyer said 73-year-old Weinstein had received lacking care in prison while suffering from a number of "serious medical conditions," including leukemia, diabetes, thyroid problems, obesity, back pain, sciatica and other health woes.

"He is consistently mistreated for serious infections, medication is given incorrectly, or not at all, he is experiencing unhealthy and atypical weight gain, and he is forced to endure freezing temperatures while not even being provided clean clothing," said lawyer Imran Ansari.

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All this justifies transferring Weinstein for observation to Bellevue Hospital where he has already been taken in recent months for urgent health care, the attorney said.

Weinstein is back in court because his 2020 conviction by a jury was overturned last year by an appeals court that ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.

The voiding of the jury's verdict by the New York Court of Appeals was a setback to survivors of the #MeToo movement against sexual violence and the promotion of justice for them.

Looking feeble, Weinstein is attending the retrial from a wheelchair and his lawyers have complained repeatedly that in prison he does not get proper medical care.

Situated in the East River between the Bronx and Queens boroughs, Rikers Island prison has long had a reputation for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and violence.

High profile prisoners have included John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman, rapper Tupac Shakur, Sex Pistols musician Sid Vicious and ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

- Conviction overturned -

The onetime Miramax studio boss was charged with the sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, and a new count for an alleged sexual assault in 2006 at a hotel in Manhattan.

In 2020, a jury of New Yorkers found Weinstein guilty of two out of five charges -- the sexual assault of Haleyi and the rape of Mann.

But the conviction and the 23-year prison sentence were overturned in April 2024.

In a hotly debated four-to-three decision, New York's appeals court ruled that jurors should not have heard testimonies of victims about sexual assaults for which Harvey Weinstein was not indicted.

Since his downfall, Weinstein has been accused of harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women, including actors Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lupita Nyong'o and Ashley Judd.

Weinstein has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.

Accusers describe the movie mogul as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure actors and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.

Jury selection continued on Wednesday.