Harvey Weinstein’s team emphasized the stress of his sexual assault retrial could lead to death during day two of jury selection.
His team requested the disgraced entertainment mogul be allowed to spend his nights at the hospital instead of Rikers Island for the entirety of his rape retrial. Weinstein, 73, claimed his prison stay is worsening his health conditions, which include chronic myeloid leukemia, heart issues, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, sciatica and severe limitations on his ability to walk. A tongue infection recently landed Weinstein back in the hospital after it was misdiagnosed by prison staff, according to his lawyer Imran Ansari.
“Because of this mistreatment, he has been worn down considerably health wise, and now faces the stress of trial in this condition, which may very well lead to serious health complications, even death,” Ansari said.
Judge Curtis Farber has not yet ruled on the request.
Weinstein had previously begged for his retrial to be moved up due to his health conditions, but Judge Farber did not allow it.
“I’m asking and begging you to switch,” Weinstein told the judge in a rare direct address to the court in January. “I can’t hold on anymore. I’m holding on because I want justice for myself.”
Weinstein told Farber that he was given the “wrong pills” earlier that morning but “caught” the mistake at the “right moment.”
“I am begging for you to move your date, so we can proceed with trial as quickly as possible, so I can get out of this hellhole,” he claimed. “There are so many people suffering in Rikers island. They don’t have the same mouthpiece. It’s a medieval situation. This is something that has to be stopped.”
However, the trial began as planned on April 15 with jury selection.
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Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in December after receiving an “alarming blood test.” At the time, his rep confirmed the former film producer had been diagnosed with leukemia.
“Mr. Weinstein, who is suffering from a number of illnesses, including leukemia, has been deprived the medical attention that someone in his medical state deserves, prisoner or not. In many ways, this mistreatment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment,” Juda Engelmayer previously told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Weinstein’s team has been adamant about his declining health in recent months, claiming he is “basically getting no treatment” for his various medical issues.
“All I can tell you is he is not getting the treatment he deserves,” Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said after a court hearing in July. “He needs some relief. We are very confident of the outcome of this trial… he will get acquitted. There is a lot of light at the end of the tunnel for Mr. Weinstein.”
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A New York appeals court overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction this past April, ordering a new trial in a stunning reversal of a landmark #MeToo case.
In a 4-3 decision, the court found that Weinstein’s trial judge allowed prosecutors to call women who said Weinstein had assaulted them to testify, even though their accusations did not specifically relate to the entertainment mogul’s charges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
