(NewsNation) — The decision to overturn the 2020 New York rape conviction of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been met with shock and anger as many wonder whether he will now walk free.
What happened in the Harvey Weinstein case?
New York’s highest court ruled to throw out Weinstein’s 2020 rape convictions after the Court of Appeals found the trial judge in the case prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations Weinstein wasn’t charged with.
Will Harvey Weinstein be released from jail?
However, the decision to overturn Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction doesn’t mean Weinstein will be released from prison.
He will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years.
Weinstein’s attorney told NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live” that she believes the overturned New York conviction will impact his separate California rape case and said the former movie mogul could potentially be freed from prison.
“The presumption of innocence just didn’t exist for Harvey Weinstein from the start,” Jennifer Bonjean, Weinstein’s attorney, said Monday on “Dan Abrams Live.”
Bonjean believes the overturned New York conviction will impact his separate California rape case. She said the Los Angeles jury that convicted Weinstein of rape in December was prejudiced by knowing he was already a convicted felon from the New York case.
The overturning reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures, an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein that helped launch the #MeToo movement.
Where is Weinstein now?
Weinstein has been serving time in New York, most recently at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles northwest of Albany. He could be taken to a California facility to serve his sentence there, though he may be held in New York while awaiting a new trial if prosecutors choose to pursue one.
Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office isn’t giving up, which means Weinstein’s accusers could be forced to retell their stories on the witness stand.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.