Harvey Weinstein Taken to Bellvue Hospital for Heart Issues Following 23 Year Sentencing

Photo Credit: David Shankbone/Wikimedia CommonsHarvey Weinstein just got sentenced to 23 years today for rape and sexual assault today and was taken to Bellvue hospital for heart problems again where he sought medical help late February. “He was having chest pains and the Rikers staff decided for safety to send him back to Bellevue now,” a spokesperson for Weinstein said. “He will be evaluated and likely will stay overnight. We appreciate the care and concern of the Department of Corrections officers and staff.” His spokesperson said it’s likely he will be staying there overnight. At this point, who knows when he’ll actually get to his designated prison facility, but one thing is certain through all of this, Weinstein is receiving far better medical treatment than the average prisoner.

A recent study of California prisons showed that all 17 of them failed to get prisoners timely access to medications. Prison Law Office spokesman Don Specter said, “There are too many people in too small a space with not enough staff to provide adequate medical care to everyone, and as a result, many prisoners fall through the cracks.” And while this is California and Weinstein is being sentenced in Rikers Island prison in New York, this is a national issue so he should consider himself lucky to have received what could be assumed as care better than the general population.

His sentence, which L.A. based criminal defense lawyer Silva Megerditchian described as being “a virtual death sentence.” She told Yahoo Entertainment that “Weinstein’s about to turn 68 and short of getting his convictions overturned, a sentence of any consequence makes this a virtual death sentence.” She went on to say “His attorneys will have a tough time getting the sentence reduced. Appealing the convictions themselves may be a better alternative. But let’s not forget, “Weinstein still faces rape charges in Los Angeles. Defense counsel’s biggest fear is that Weinstein will die in custody.”

Weinstein broke his silence in court today saying he felt “remorse for this situation” and added that men were being accused of “things that none of us understood.” He went on to say “Thousands of men are losing due process. I’m worried about this country. I’m totally confused. I think men are confused about these issues.” Weinstein is a man who has been accused of taking advantage of so many women that he had become a long standing open joke that no one really ever spoke about but it was the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a New York City hotel room in 2013 and forcing oral sex on a former TV and film production assistant Mimi Haley at his place in 2006 that did him in. He also has a history of paying off sexual assault accusers going back for decades. In other words, he’s done enough to have an understanding of the difference in right and wrong in dealing with women.

The defense is concerned about their client dying in custody, but the likelyhood of there being any type of leniency in his convictions doesn’t seem to be very strong. “His attorneys will have a tough time getting the sentence reduced,” Megerditchian stated. “Appealing the convictions themselves may be a better alternative. But let’s not forget, Weinstein still faces rape charges in Los Angeles. Defense counsel’s biggest fear is that Weinstein will die in custody.

Says Megerditchian, “23 years is a long sentence for someone who’d never been convicted of a rape or serious crime. But the judge handed down a sentence well within sentencing parameters. Ask the victims whether Weinstein’s punishment is too harsh and they’re likely to feel that the predator got exactly what he deserved.”

As for the fairness of the sentencing, Nicole Page, partner with Reavis Page Jump’s entertainment and employment practices said it was fair. “It is [a virtual life sentence] and we don’t yet know what the outcome of his L.A. trial will be,” she explains. “He is able to appeal and will presumably do so,” notes Page. “In an appeal his attorneys can ask for a number of things ranging from a reduction in the sentence to a request for a new trial.” Megerditchian explains that Weinstein “can appeal both the sentence and the convictions.”

“But the judge’s sentence is within the sentencing parameters,” she emphasizes. “I don’t think he stands much of a chance. He may have a better chance getting the convictions tossed but even that’s an uphill battle.”

One of the only possible issues here is one juror who wrote a book about “predatory men having relationships with younger women” which is due out this summer, Megerditchian explains.

One of the main takeaways out of all of this is the level of eyerolling shock Weinstein showed sitting in court today. “As someone who represents women subjected to harassment and abuse, I am relieved and hopeful,” Nicole Page shares. “I am also amazed that Weinstein and others like him seem utterly baffled when they finally get caught. It shows that we live in a society where much of this behavior is deemed acceptable, at least in the minds of certain powerful men.”