[imagesource: Bebeto Matthews/AP]

Earlier this year, in a massive victory for the #MeToo movement, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in a state prison on two felony charges.

The verdict isn’t surprising considering the harrowing testimony given by his victims over the course of the trial. 

He responded to his conviction with a statement that painted a clear picture of a man who is incapable of taking responsibility for his actions.

In March, roughly a month after his conviction, it was confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was in isolation at the maximum-security Wende Correctional Facility.

Now, reports Deadline, he is once again ill, with a high fever, and is being monitored.

Weinstein’s publicist Juda Englemeyer, and Craig Rothfeld, his authorized rep from the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and Department of Health, said in a statement to Deadline that the ex-producer has a fever but would “neither confirm nor deny that Mr. Weinstein has tested positive for COVID-19.”

Forgive me for being cynical, but these health struggles seem like a ploy to ensure that Weinstein isn’t imprisoned on Rikers Island, which has earned the nickname of ‘Torture Island’.

If he does have COVID-19 again, it would be made worse by his various comorbidities including a heart condition, high blood pressure, and spinal stenosis.

I would imagine that the heart condition and high blood pressure are being exacerbated by his upcoming trial in Los Angeles where he faces numerous felony counts of rape and sexual assault, with several more added last month. If convicted, he could face a further 140 years in prison.

In London, police are also looking into allegations of assault received from 11 women, and another alleged assault in Dublin.

It’s horrifying how many people have emerged with stories of the (in some cases alleged) horrors that he inflicted on women up until his arrest. Even more horrifying is that the list keeps on growing.

Prior to his conviction in February, his lawyers tried to use his health as motivation for a reduced sentence saying that a lengthy one was “a de facto life sentence”.

Adding 140 years should sort out any concerns that he might be ‘wrongly’ sentenced to life in prison.

Problem solved.

[source:deadline]