Harvey Weinstein Claims Prosecutors Are ‘Trying To Kill Him’ With ‘Inhumane’ Jail Conditions, Will Face Women-Dominated Jury In Re-Trial

Baila Eve ZismanApril 23, 2025, 11:55 amHome Featured, News >

Following the selection of a jury on Tuesday, opening statements for the third trial of Harvey Weinstein are scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

Weinstein’s legal representation has spent months arguing that Weinstein’s deteriorating health is a result of the cruel and inadequate care he was subjected to at Rikers Island jail. Among Weinstein’s medical conditions are spinal stenosis, diabetes, faltering kidneys and vision, long-term leukemia and lost teeth. Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that the State of New York is “trying to kill him” by allowing the living conditions.

The Hollywood mogul was found guilty of third-degree rape five years ago, in the wake of the trials inspired by the watershed #MeToo movement, which saw over 80 women accuse him of sexual harassment. In 2020, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison. However, in a shocking ruling last year, a New York appeals court threw out Weinstein’s conviction. Weinstein’s retrial started this week with the jury selection.

Notably, Weinstein’s sexual assault and rape retrial in New York sees a jury of seven women and five men in the Manhattan criminal court. This is the first women-dominated jury that Weinstein has faced in his three trials, with the 2020 jury consisting of seven men and five women and the 2024 jury with nine men and three women.

First accused of forcing a production assistant to perform a sex act in 2006 and raping an aspiring actress in a hotel room in 2013, Weinstein’s retrial sees him face new allegations from three different women.

Throughout the entire process, Weinstein has insisted that he is innocent.

In March, Weinstein made an unsolicited call to The Daily Mail to emphasize the extent of his decline, saying, “I turn 73 next Wednesday, and I’m in a place where I don’t think I’ll get to 74…The conditions here are unbearable, and I speak not just for me but for the other people who don’t have a voice…this is inhumane, horrifying and needs to be torn down.”

He further asserted, “I’m innocent and every act with these women was consensual.”

Weinstein has requested that he be allowed to sleep in the hospital for his retrial.