Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers are afraid he will die during his incarceration at Rikers Island, where he has been since a 2020 rape conviction in New York was overturned on appeal, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
According to Weinstein’s legal team, the disgraced movie producer has faced egregious conditions while jailed, including being left to fester in blood-spattered clothes, wearing the same underwear for weeks and exposure to freezing temperatures. They also allege that he was denied basic medicine for cancer treatment.
Lawyers for Weinstein say that his mistreatment has been so horrific that they suspect it is deliberate by the prison and that their client’s death is the “inevitable outcome”.
Last week, Weinstein’s lawyers filed a legal claim against New York City seeking $5m in damages. They allege that Weinstein is a victim of negligent medical care and is being forced to live in “gulag”-like conditions.
In October, it was reported that Weinstein was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. He was eventually taken to the prison ward at lower Manhattan’s Bellevue hospital after a blood test showed dangerously low levels of white cells, raising his risk of serious infection.
During the lengthy legal proceedings, Weinstein’s legal team had been pushing for him to be allowed to stay full-time in a unit at Bellevue hospital. During his many court appearances, he would often be brought in by wheelchair.
Weinstein’s attorney, Imran H Ansari, told the Hollywood Reporter that his visits to Rikers made him “question whether I was in a prison facility that is supposed to be managed in accordance with our constitution, or a gulag where the prisoners are treated like animals”.
“I don’t want to be speculative, but he is certainly not just another inmate number,” said Ansari. “I’m sure everyone knows this is Harvey Weinstein. This was the guy who was living in the lap of luxury and was at the top of his game in Hollywood, and here he is now.”
Weinstein’s retrial in the rape case at the center of his overturned conviction is scheduled for 2025. Rikers Island is supposed to be closed in 2027, but New York City has postponed closure deadlines.
