Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is being held in a cell in disrepair as he awaits the daily sessions of his trial in Los Angeles, his lawyer denounced this Tuesday.
The producer faces trial on multiple counts of sexually assaulting five women between 2004 and 2013. If convicted, Weinstein – who has pleaded not guilty to all charges – could face an additional 140 years behind bars on top of what he’s already served for. sex crimes committed in New York.
On the second day of Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial, where the court is trying to narrow down the long list of potential jurors, his attorney Mark Werksman said the conditions in the wheelchair-bound former producer’s cell were “unhealthy and fetid.” . “They are almost medieval. I am concerned for his health and ability to survive this ordeal without having a heart attack or stroke,” he warned. “He is 70 years old.”
Judge Lisa Lench said she would speak with the sheriff’s deputies, who are responsible for Weinstein’s incarceration during the trial. “I’m not downplaying, I’m just not sure there’s much to be done,” she explained.
Jury selection is expected to take several days, before a trial that could last two months.
