The jury deliberating in the sex crimes retrial of former film mogul Harvey Weinstein is set to continue their discussions today, after spending two days previously without coming to a unanimous decision. As reported by ABC7 New York, the seven women and five men jury has been tasked with deciding on two counts of criminal sex act and one count of rape, Weinstein, age 73, maintains his plea of not guilty.
Amid the tension of the trial, an incident surfaced Friday when a juror requested their excusal alleging other jury members' treatment toward a peer was "unfair and unjust," however, the presiding judge insisted the juror to further partake in the deliberation process and simultaneously rejected a call for a mistrial by the defense over the matter, this development, originally reported by Business Standard, adds a layer of complexity to an already closely watched trial.
Previously, Weinstein found himself on the adverse end of a 2020 verdict that was pivotal in the #MeToo movement where he was convicted of rape and sexual assault of two women in New York, a conviction that was later overturned prompting the current retrial that has included testimony from an additional accuser last year before a new jury and is presided over by a different judge. Furthermore, in 2022, the once-celebrated producer was convicted in Los Angeles of another rape.
