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The last chance of Harvey Weinstein
Annabella Sciorra, the woman who worries Harvey Weinstein's jury
The jury of the Harvey Weinstein trial has gone to rest this weekend without reaching an agreement. After four days of deliberation, the twelve New Yorkers who will decide the future of the film producer asked the judge if they could reach a unanimous verdict in three charges, but not in the two related to the defendant's “predatory” behavior, which entail life imprisonment. Prosecutors rejected a partial verdict, while Weinstein's defense was in favor. Finally, Judge James Burke ordered the jury to continue trying to achieve unanimity in all charges.
In the first and only criminal process since the origin of the Me Too movement, Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty, arguing that sexual relations were consensual. The former foreman of the film industry is accused of raping actress Jessica Mann in 2014 and forcing production assistant Mimi Haleyi to practice oral sex in 2006. For these alleged acts, she faces a first-degree sexual offense charge; two for violation, in first and third grade; and two for "predatory" sexual assault, a legal term used to explain that the crime is part of the defendant's natural behavior.
In the event that the seven men and five women of the jury find Weinstein guilty of one or both charges of first degree sexual offense (criminal sexual act and / or rape), the two most serious crimes are escalated. The prosecutor's office in New York called to testify in January to actress Annabella Sciorra to reinforce the accusation related to predatory behavior. The 59-year-old actress, known for her roles in True Love and Los Soprano , said the defendant raped her in the winter of 1993-1994, a prescribed crime.
In addition to Sciorra, three other alleged victims took the stand during the trial to support Weinstein's frequent criminal behavior. About twenty women testified to have witnessed the events. On the two charges for "predatory" sexual assault is that the jury has failed to reach a unanimous consensus. Since the deliberations began last Tuesday, the jury has requested to review several evidences and testimonies related to Sciorra, leaving in evidence that this testimony has kept them occupied on the 15th floor of the New York State Criminal Court. This Friday the first thing they did was listen to a recreation of the interrogation that Donna Rotunno, Weinstein's lawyer, did to the actress, where she says that the film producer raped her and practiced oral sex by force.
"Just remember that they are in a critical stage, they are in the deliberation process and they are not kidnapped," Judge Burke told jurors before sending them home. Monday will resume discussions and a verdict on Weinstein may be known next week.