His lawyers had previously asked Judge Burke to give Weinstein a sentence of five years, arguing he deserved mercy for his already ‘historic fall from grace’ and serious health issues.
According to Variety, a seven-page memo was put forth by Weinstein’s defense as they cited his charitable contributions, while also claiming the harsh public backlash should be taken into account. ‘Mr. Weinstein cannot walk outside without being heckled, he has lost his means to earn a living, simply put, his fall from grace has been historic, perhaps unmatched in the age of social media,’ the attorneys wrote. ‘Deserved or not, this is certainly a unique and extremely severe consequence that Mr. Weinstein had to endure, and in the age of social media and given his fame, virtually unrivaled when compared to any other defendant in the state of New York if not nationally.’
The disgraced producer was found guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
metro.co.uk