Harvey Weinstein's scandalous statement: "Jennifer Aniston must be killed"
A series of court documents revealed a shocking statement by former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein against Jennifer Aniston. When he heard (incorrectly) that the "Friends" star had accused him of abusing her, he wrote to her representative: "Jen Aniston must be killed," the New York Post reported.
Weinstein, convicted of rape and sexual assault two weeks ago, will be sentenced today by a New York judge. He faces up to 29 years in jail.
The ruling in Manhattan state criminal court will be the culmination of a landmark trial for #MeToo, following a landmark verdict on February 24 that gave the anti-sexual assault and harassment movement its first court victory.
The jury found Weinstein, 67, guilty of first-degree sexual assault for performing forced oral sex on former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in July 2006.
The producer of "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love," whose films have won 81 Oscars, was also convicted of third-degree rape of former actress Jessica Mann in March 2013.
However, he was found not guilty of Mann's first degree rape and two counts of sexual predation, the most serious crimes of which he was charged and for which he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The sentence will be handed down by Judge James Burke. Weinstein faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 29 years.
Prosecutors asked Burke to serve a harsh sentence as Weinstein abused "throughout his life" and showed "a complete lack of remorse" for his actions.
In a letter, the prosecution asked the judge to consider 36 other sexual assault and harassment allegations against Weinstein that date back to the 1970s and were not part of the process.
Weinstein "has shown an attitude of superiority and a total lack of compassion for others," wrote prosecutor Joan Illuzzi.
The defense, for its part, asked the judge to apply the minimum penalty because Weinstein is a successful professional who has won dozens of Oscars. "Her life story of his, his accomplishments, his struggles are simply remarkable and should not be ignored due to the jury's verdict," he wrote.
The producer's lawyers say that a sentence greater than the minimum is equivalent to a death sentence, since according to statistics a white man like Weinstein will not live 12 more years.
Weinstein's lawyers collided with the judge several times during the process, and even suggested that the judge was not impartial towards the defendant.
"I think (the judge) feels some pressure because he knows that everyone is watching," said criminal attorney Jeffrey Lichtman. "He is clearly not a fan of Weinstein or his lawyers so I think he will make the impact felt from him ... My hypothesis is that it will be a double digit sentence," he stated.
It is not yet known whether Weinstein will address the judge directly during sentencing, as is usual among convicts. But the accusers - Jessica Mann, 34, and Mimi Haleyi, 42 - are expected to go to the judge to ask for a severe penalty.
Several local outlets released court documents Tuesday showing Weinstein turned to billionaires Jeff Bezos and Michael Bloomberg for help when he was the target of a tsunami of sexual assault allegations in October 2017.
The film producer, a father of five, was not jailed immediately after the verdict because he began to feel palpitations and chest pains. He was transferred to a hospital where he was admitted for several days.
He finally underwent a heart operation and on March 5 was transferred to the infamous Rykers Island prison in the Bronx.
Weinstein has yet to respond to an indictment in Los Angeles for the alleged rape of an Italian model in February 2013 and the sexual assault on former model Lauren Young the following night.
