Former influential movie producer Harvey Weinstein is considering a guilty plea amid a variety of criminal charges as he feels hopeless and lonely in prison.
Having a trial date of March 3, Weinstein is appealing to have his convictions overturned as he says he is innocent and in a failing state of mental health as he manages a complicated legal landscape.
Weinstein told the court that being jailed feels like a 'march to my death,' and that he's 'haunted by the thought that I will die here unseen and unheard.'
In addition, Weinstein weighed on his guilty plea, acknowledging he was 'unfiathfu,' and acted 'wrongly,' but has 'never assaulted anyone.'
Weinstein and his courtroom plea and claims of innocence
Weinstein came into the Manhattan court and asked Judge Curtis Farber to give him a second opportunity, claiming he never assaulted anyone. Although accepting the fact of his unfaithfulness and wrongful acts in the past, Weinstein demanded that the sexual assault accusations levelled against him were not true.
The motion by his attorney to have his conviction of criminal sexual act against Miriam Haley thrown out was rejected, and the judge stressed the fact that the trial was fair.
Weinstein, who was wheelchair-bound in court, also described his mental health hardships and claimed that his mental health is just collapsing, and he feels lonely in prison.
Criminal cases and verdicts of the juries
In June 2025, a jury in Manhattan found Weinstein guilty of a single felony of criminal sexual act in the first degree against Miriam Haley and innocent of another felony against Kaja Sokola.
However, the third count of rape against Jessica Mann was undecided by the jury, where the foreperson cited threats by jurors as the cause of the jury's lack of a verdict. This caused a mistrial on that accusation, further prolonging the ordeal by Weinstein.
After the decision, the prosecutors said they would retry Weinstein on rape charges, as supported by Jessica Mann.
The legal team of Weinstein complained of the constant legal proceedings and accused the retrial process as unnecessary because of his age (73) and poor health.
His lawyer also noted that Weinstein could have been able to resolve the case sooner had he not been a high-profile person, by noting that it was unfair and redundant in the process.
Possible guilty plea and new trials
Although Weinstein has not been keen on pleading guilty to the rape offence, his attorney revealed that he might accept a plea should the court propose a concurrent sentence that may spare him the subsequent trial.
Weinstein's lawyers are considering taking a plea that may reduce the possibility of more time in prison, taking into consideration his health and the 16 years he is to serve in California, which he has yet to do.
Even as the plea talks go on, a tentative trial date of March 3 has been set on the remaining rape charge. The legal team of Weinstein is requesting more time to deliberate on the case, which is indicative of the complicated nature of negotiations in the case of Weinstein.
His original conviction was reversed in April 2024, and since then, Weinstein has been detained in Rikers Island, where he is in poor condition and is hospitalised at Bellevue Hospital to attend the trial process.
His health status and his present confinement have become very important elements of his litigation plan and perspective.
His present incarceration and physical condition have now become important in his defence plan and viewpoint. He wishes that he hadn't regretted the ills of prison life and his fear of the likelihood of the case being the end of his life as a result of mental pressure.
