The Harvey Weinstein retrial in New York took another dramatic turn Thursday when the judge declared a mistrial on the last undecided charge.
The jury returned a partial verdict Wednesday, finding Weinstein guilty of criminal sexual assault against Miriam Haley and not guilty of criminal sexual assault against Kaja Sokola.
At the time, the jury told the judge they had not yet reached a verdict on the charge of third-degree rape against Jessica Mann, and the judge said they would continue deliberating Thursday.
The judge asked the jury foreperson Thursday morning if he felt they could continue and he replied no. The judge then thanked the jury for their time and said the decision to declare a mistrial did not reflect on them.
Weinstein did not appear to have much of a reaction to the mistrial ruling.
Juror alleges harassment, threats amid apparently tense deliberations
The deliberations among the seven women and five men on the jury have seemingly been tense.
On June 6, one day after deliberations began, a juror asked to be removed over claims that some jurors were acting unfairly, but the judge denied the request.
Monday, a juror requested to speak with the judge privately.
Wednesday, the jury foreperson asked to speak to the judge in private and alleged another juror had threatened him over his decision on the rape charge.
“Somebody talk to me, ‘Oh, we will see you outside,’ because I got my decision. I say, ‘No, that’s my personal decision. You don’t have to change me,'” the foreperson said, according to a transcript.
The defense has repeatedly called for a mistrial over the apparent problems among the jury, and Weinstein himself weighed in Wednesday.
“This isn’t fair. This isn’t right. I’m the one on trial. This is my life that’s on the line, I am not getting a fair trial. You are endangering me,” he said.
The judge asked the jury foreperson if he felt safe returning to court Thursday, and the jury foreperson said he did, but he was offered court-appointed security.
The jury requested the rules of a hung jury and other rules of deliberations earlier in the week.
What to know about the retrial of Harvey Weinstein
New York’s highest court overturned Weinstein’s 2020 conviction last year, ruling the judge in his first trial should not have allowed testimony from accusers who were not part of the criminal charges. Weinstein then spent months at the Rikers Island jail complex leading up to his retrial.
The 73-year-old disgraced Hollywood mogul pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree criminal sex act and one count of third-degree rape. Both carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Both Haley and Mann, who testified during the original trial were back on the stand for the retrial. Haley testified Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in July 2006, and Mann alleges he raped her in 2023.
Sokola also testified this time, alleging Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006 when she was 19 years old. She was not part of the original trial.
After the jury left for deliberations on June 5, Weinstein asked to address the court, saying in part, “I’ve been treated incredibly fairly. The court officers, the court clerks, everybody I just want to thank from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate you all.”
He was also convicted in 2022 of sexual assault in Los Angeles and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in that case.
