On Monday, Harvey Weinstein's attorney revealed that the 72-year-old film producer had been rushed back to Bellevue Hospital following the receipt of a blood test result described as "alarming." Currently, Weinstein finds himself detained at Rikers Island, awaiting a retrial for rape charges scheduled for next year in New York. Battling leukemia, diabetes, coronary artery disease, sleep apnea, and several other health issues, his physical condition remains precarious.
Last week, Weinstein's legal team filed a claim of $5 million against the City of New York, accusing Rikers Island of housing inmates in deplorable and inhumane conditions that had drastically deteriorated his health, leading him to fear for his life. In a statement issued on Monday, attorney Imran Ansari emphasized that Weinstein requires "immediate medical intervention" and is anticipated to remain at Bellevue Hospital until his health stabilizes.
"His lack of proper medical care constitutes not just medical negligence but a breach of his constitutional rights," Ansari asserted.
Earlier last week, a federal judge, Laura Taylor Swain, threatened to appoint a receiver to oversee Rikers Island, citing an "unprecedentedly high" level of violence within the facility despite years of operation under a consent decree. The judge highlighted numerous incidents of fighting, stabbings, assaults on guards, as well as inadequate training and supervision of prison staff.
Ansari had previously likened Rikers Island to a "gulag where prisoners are treated like animals." During his last visit, he discovered that Weinstein's clothes, possibly stained with blood from an IV drip, hadn't been washed for weeks. He further alleged that Weinstein was denied certain medications and access to adequate medical care.
Earlier this year, Weinstein was incarcerated at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Rome, New York, serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault charges. However, in April, the state's highest court overturned his conviction in a 4-3 decision. Consequently, Weinstein was sent back to New York City to await a retrial, during which he has been shuttled multiple times between Rikers Island and Bellevue Hospital. His legal representatives contend that Bellevue Hospital prematurely discharged him, causing his condition to worsen at Rikers, necessitating his repeated readmissions to Bellevue.
The former Hollywood producer is scheduled to appear in court again on January 29.
