On Wednesday March 11, after several months in court, Harvey Weinstein has been convicted on several charges rape and assault and has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. Arriving to court in a wheelchair and handcuffs, Weinstein, age 67, gave an appeal to the jury before hearing his sentence. During his appeal Weinstein, barely audible, said,”I feel remorse. I feel it deeply in my heart. I will spend my time really caring and really trying to be a better person.” Weinstein continued with, “It is just I’m totally confused and I think men are confused about all these issues.” Judge James Burke then sentenced him to 20 years on charges of first degree sexual act and 3 years for third degree rape. These charges will be held consecutively, with a five years of supervision, and Weinstein then must also be registered as a sex offender upon release. Upon hearing the news, #MeToo supporters praised the sentence for Weinstein and accuser who spoke in court, Miriam Haley said, “If Harvey Weinstein had not been convicted by this jury, it would have happened again and again and again.” Currently Weinstein is being extradited to California to face even more charges including forcible rape and sexual penetration. Hopefully the nation can take a sigh of relief knowing that a sexual assaulter will be held responsible and face jail time.
Should Harvey Weinstein have been charged with more years?
Is it concerning that both Weinstein and his lawyer played the "frail and weak" card in order to win sympathy?
How should future cases of sexual assault and behavior like this be handled, for both unknown and famous people?
Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/harvey-weinstein-sentence/index.html
I think that Harvey Weinstein should be charged with more years in jail. He will already be very old the moment he gets out of jail. Giving Weinstein more years in jail, will be good to show other people the punishment from being a sex offender. It is very concerning that Weinstein played the "frail and weak" card. He should not be given sympathy for his actions. He should be forgiven, because forgiveness is always a good thing, but that doesn't mean that he shouldn't face his full punishment. Future cases of sexual assault should be handled very seriously.
ReplyDeleteI think it is concerning how he played the frail and weak card. Many men and women struggle with sexual desires, but they know that assaulting or raping another person is not okay under any circumstances. One's desires are no excuse for this kind of extreme behavior. Sexual assault cases should be handled seriously whether it's someone who is famous or unknown.
ReplyDeleteBased on his convictions, the sentence is appropriate and he doesn't deserve more years in prison based on laws. It is slightly concerning but unsurprising that he played the "frail and weak" card as many people have done it or have tried to play the "mentally unstable" card. I don't think cases between famous and regular people should be held differently as they are committing the same sets of crimes and are equal under law. I think they should be given justice for these acts, and that rape should be considered much worse than it is currently by the law as it is almost as terrible as murder.
ReplyDeleteBased on the charges, I believe the sentence should not be longer because there is no compelling reason to increase the sentence seeing as how 23 years is a rather long time to be in jail, and given the age of the defendendent, it doesn't really matter. In addition, Weinstein did express a sentiment to reflect and try to be a better person, which we should take into account with a grain of salt. In addition, I don't think it's necessarily concerning that the lawyer played the "weak and frail" card because as a lawyer, they should be prepared to use whatever defense would benefit their defendant the most. And lastly, I believe future sexual assault cases should be dealt with thoroughness and care. I think it's also really important that these cases aren't highly publicized because privacy and respect should be taken into account for the victims of these crimes.
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ReplyDeleteI think it's concerning that the best course of action for a guilty rapist is to complain of being confused about how to handle himself. However, because the judge obviously did not buy into any of these claims, it's safe to say they were unwarranted and desperate times called for desperate measures. Additionally, regardless of the fame of the person, future cases should be handled similarly. Multiple years in prison and supervision is certainly called for and hopefully sets a precedent for other cases.
ReplyDeleteDespite any circumstance, I personally believe one that has committed an immoral crime as devastating as rape, they must be rotting in a jail cell for the rest of their life. Although Harvey very well may be rotting away his life for the next 23 years, I still believe he should be placed in prison for life so he can suffer until his dying day. The fact that his lawyer and him tried to win over the sympathy card is absolutely disgusting. Even if he had remorse, it still doesn't change my opinion that he deserves to suffer his entire life because of those moments he made his victims suffer.
ReplyDeleteI think that Harvey Weinstein deserves a much longer sentence. He deserves no sympathy or mercy just because he has power in the movie industry. If he didn't want punishment, he should never have raped any woman. Rape is inexcusable and caused each of those women physical and years of psychological pain. He deserves to suffer in prison till the day he dies. He knew what he was doing when he raped these women. The fact that he played the "weak and frail" card is honestly offensive to every woman in America. He preyed on these women for his own benefit. All rapists deserve to be in prison as long as possible. There is no moral question. It's abhorrent, cruel, and it takes a terrible person to rape someone. Despite his "remorse" I would not change my opinion on the future of him. He should be in prison until the day he dies.
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