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Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyers Beg For Lenient Prison Sentence, Say Disgraced Movie Mogul Has Suffered Enough

   DailyWire.com
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 06: Harvey Weinstein walks away from the courtroom in New York City criminal court on January 6, 2020 in New York City. Weinstein, a movie producer whose alleged sexual misconduct helped spark the #MeToo movement, pleaded not-guilty on five counts of rape and sexual assault against two unnamed women and faces a possible life sentence in prison.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Disgraced Hollywood mega-producer Harvey Weinstein is due in court in New York City on Wednesday for sentencing following his landmark conviction on one count of first degree sexual assault and one count of third degree rape, but Tuesday, his attorneys begged the court for leniency, claiming Weinstein has suffered enough because of his “historic fall from grace.”

The plea, made in a letter to Weinstein’s judge, Judge James Burke, begs Burke to give Weinstein the shortest possible sentence — a mere five years in prison — for his crimes, claiming that Weinstein is suffering unprecedented punishment already, as he “cannot walk outside without being heckled,” and his reputation is in tatters, according to The Associated Press.

“He has lost his means to earn a living,” Weinstein’s legal team says. “Simply put, his fall from grace has been historic, perhaps unmatched in the age of social media.”

They go on to claim that Weinstein, who is 67 years old, may not survive even a five year prison term.

“The grave reality is that Mr. Weinstein may not even outlive that term,” they say, suggesting that for Weinstein, a mere half decade is “a de facto life sentence.”

Weinstein could get up to 25 years in prison if the judge decides to hand the former movie mogul the maximum possible sentence for each of his crimes. His legal team, though, has long relied on portraying Weinstein as a victim and not a sexual predator; Weinstein paraded into and out of the courtroom leaning on a walker and, as he was en route to Rikers Island following his conviction, he was taken to Bellevue hospital, complaining of chest pains.

Weinstein reportedly underwent a procedure to place a stent in one of his arteries, and spent a week in the medical facility before being sent back to Rikers, where he’s since shared “dormitory”-style accommodations with other high value prisoners.

Weinstein’s prosecutors told the Associated Press that Burke can “consider all aspects of a defendant’s life and characteristics” when doling out a prison sentence, but that they hope Burke notes Weinstein’s “lifetime of abuse toward others, sexual and otherwise,” and “his total lack of remorse for the harm he has done,” while making his decision.

A jury found Weinstein guilty on two of the five charges brought by New York City prosecutors — the other three involved a documented history of predatory behavior, something rather difficult for prosecutors to establish, holding the trial so far removed in time from the alleged offenses.

But even though that limits the time Weinstein could spend in jail for his crimes, he will have to travel to Los Angeles in May, where he’ll face another round of charges, this time stemming from alleged sexual assaults that took place in California. He may also face charges in London; prosecutors there are reviewing several women’s claims against the former mega-producer.

Weinstein is still the most high-profile scalp taken by the #MeToo movement, which saw women (and some men) across the entertainment industry come forward with claims of being stalked, harassed, sexually assaulted, and even raped by Hollywood bigwigs.

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