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Awaiting a new New York trial next year on more sex crimes charges, Harvey Weinstein seems to be wishing he was spending Thanksgiving behind bars at the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo.
That’s certainly one of the takeaways from the long incarcerated and convicted rapist’s lawsuit of “no less than $5,000,000.00” against the city of New York and others over the conditions and medial services at the notoriously violent and decrepit Rikers Island jail.
“This claim seeks monetary damages arising from negligence, carelessness, recklessness, gross negligence, medical malpractice, intentional and/or reckless and/or negligent deprivation of medical treatment, deprivation of civil and constitutional rights, and negligent and intentional torts committed by officers, agents, and employees of the New York City Department of Correction (“NYC DOC”), New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation (“NYC H+H”), Rikers Island Correctional Facility, and New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation/Bellevue (“Bellevue Hospital”),” exclaims the November 26 filing in New York state court from Weinstein’s Adala, Bertuna & Kamins lawyers (read Harvey Weinstein’s $5 million lawsuit over Rikers Island conditions here).
A point hit home today by one of Weinstein’s legal team.
“When I last visited him, I found him with blood spatter on his prison garb, possibly from IV’s, clothes that had not been washed for weeks, and he had not even been provided clean underwear – hardly sanitary conditions for someone with severe medical conditions and susceptibility to illness,” defense attorney Imran H. Ansari told Deadline of what she termed “deplorable conditions” in the jail in a statement after the filing. “I questioned whether I was in a prison facility that is supposed to be managed in accordance with our constitution, or a gulag where the prisoners are treated like animals” (Read the full statement from Weinstein’s attorney below).
Plagued by illness even during his 2020 sex crimes trial in Manhattan, the now 72-year-old Pulp Fiction producer has been in and out of hospitals even before he was transferred to Rikers from the upstate Wende prison in April after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his over four year old felony convictions on first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape, and the subsequent 23 year sentence. Due to his sex crimes convictions out in LA in late 2022, Weinstein remained behind bars, though more often in Bellevue than Rikers.
“While in the custody of Rikers Island Correctional Facility, the Claimant’s medical conditions deteriorated significantly, unreasonably, and dangerously, leading to multiple instances where the Claimant feared for his life. Respondents were on notice of Claimant’s medical condition yet intentionally, recklessly, and/or negligently, failed to render proper medical treatment to Claimant,” the five-page filing from Weinstein defense lawyer Ansari added. “Said conduct fell below the standard of care for medical professionals. Furthermore, the conditions amounted to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of Claimant’s constitutional rights.”
With no small degree of coincidence, Tuesday’s filing by Weinstein’s defense team comes as a federal judge today ruled NYC was in contempt for not adequately handling the brutality and growing violence at Rikers. In an often scathing 65-page ruling about ongoing failings of officials to get the aging facility back on track ASAP and the “civil contempt of eighteen provisions” already set out to help fix things, Judge Laura Taylor Swain indicated she was considering a return to direct Department of Justice oversight of Rikers.
Even though New York City Council voted recently to close Rikers by August 2027, that goal looks unlikely, which is why, in part, Judge Swan has given city and prisoner officials until January 14 to put together a receivership strategy for the overstuffed jail.
The city of New York did not respond to request for comment on the much accused Weinstein’s new lawsuit. If they do, this post will be updated.
Read the full statement from Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer on the producer’s Rikers Island lawsuit here:
“Harvey Weinstein has suffered considerably from the deplorable conditions on Rikers Island. Most significantly, the system has failed him in providing him the most basic medical care. But he needs more than basic care, he needs the intensive medical treatment that one would be afforded in any civilized society – prisoner or not. Rather than receiving the medical care he needs, he remains without critical medication, adequate treatment by competent physicians for complex and serious medical conditions, and is deprived of even the most elemental humane treatment. When I last visited him, I found him with blood spatter on his prison garb, possibly from IV’s, clothes that had not been washed for weeks, and he had not even been provided clean underwear – hardly sanitary conditions for someone with severe medical conditions and susceptibility to illness. I questioned whether I was in a prison facility that is supposed to be managed in accordance with our constitution, or a gulag where the prisoners are treated like animals. The treatment, or lack thereof, that Mr. Weinstein is receiving on Rikers Island does not only amount to medical negligence, it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The disregard to Mr. Weinstein’s medical needs is an example as to why Rikers Island has been under the intense scrutiny by officials and the public, and is the subject of federal oversight. But, we don’t live in a country where a prisoner such as Mr. Weinstein must endure such harsh and draconian treatment, and disregard to his medical needs, without recourse under the law. As such, to ensure that his constitutional rights are protected, and those responsible for medical negligence and other violations of the law are held accountable, Mr. Weinstein is suing the City of New York and the agencies responsible for his mistreatment. We intended to aggressively fight for his rights, and therein, uphold the integrity of our justice system and the values embodied in our constitution.”
