Harvey Weinstein's conviction overturned, sparking outrage

The appeals court in the state of New York overturned on Thursday (April 25) the verdict in the rape case involving film producer Harvey Weinstein. Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, criticised the decision of the New York court.

Now, the New York Court of Appeals overturned by a 4:3 vote the 2020 sentence in which [Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for a 2006 sexual assault]) and a third-degree rape in 2013. The appeal filed by the producer's defence argued that Judge James Burke allowed the prosecution to include testimonies from women whose statements against the film producer were not part of the ongoing case during that trial.

A man is in prison because he is sentenced to 16 years for a rape that took place in 2013. In Los Angeles court, Weinstein was found not guilty of sexually assaulting one of the women who testified in New York. It was also one of the bases of the appeal, so who knows if, after the New York court's decision, Weinstein's defence will not try their luck there as well.

Overturning the 2020 verdict is a "slap in the face" to all of Weinstein's victims - write American media on Friday, observing the trial. One of the 12 jurors who issued the convicting verdict four years ago also spoke up. In a letter to U.S. News, she claims that the trial was absolutely fair.

Not only the media and jurors are furious. Actress Ashley Judd spoke in a similar tone.

"Today is a day of institutional betrayal," announced Ashley Judd during the United Nations-organized event on workplace safety on Thursday. "Our institutions are betraying those who have experienced male sexual violence," she added.

Judd's words should not come as a surprise, as she was one of many women who, in 2017, accused Weinstein of sexual harassment in an article in "The New York Times", sparking the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct. The following year, Judd filed a lawsuit against Weinstein, accusing him of defamation in 1988 after she refused his sexual advances.

On Thursday (April 25), in a Facebook post, Judd once again shared her thoughts on the verdict's annulment: "Today's erroneous opinion of four judges does not change what we, the survivors, know. The truth is immutable."

She expressed similar sentiments in a conversation with "The New York Times". "It's unfair to the survivors. We still live in our truth. And we know what happened," she added.

72-year-old Weinstein denied the allegations that he had taken part in sexual activities without mutual consent.