Harvey Weinstein's New York retrial ends in mistrial with jury deadlocked

"Harvey Weinstein's retrial in New York on a rape charge ended in a mistrial on Friday after the jury deadlocked in the closely watched criminal case that another jury had already failed to decide last year. The disgraced former Hollywood mogul has been convicted of other sex crimes on the US east and west coasts and is already in jail. But Friday's declaration of another mistrial leaves the New York rape charge in limbo after three trials."

"A majority-male jury in Manhattan had been weighing whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor. Weinstein's lawyers argued that sexual encounter between them was consensual. It happened in 2013 during a fraught relationship between Weinstein, who was married at the time, and Mann, decades his junior. The signs of stalemate emerged on Friday a few hours into the third day of deliberations."

"Jurors sent a note saying they have concluded that they cannot reach a unanimous verdict. Judge Curtis Farber initially instructed the group to continue deliberating. An appeals court overturned his 2020 New York conviction on charges that involved Mann and another accuser. At a retrial last year, jury deliberations broke down amid infighting on Mann's portion of the case, leading to this current retrial."

"Mann, 40, has testified that she willingly had some sexual interludes with the movie producer, but that he subjected her to unwanted sex that day, after she repeatedly said no. Weinstein's lawyers have emphasized that Mann subsequently continued seeing Weinstein after the encounter and expressing warmth toward him. Mann has said she was mired in complicated feelings about him, herself and what had happened."

A New York retrial of Harvey Weinstein on a third-degree rape charge ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked. The jury in Manhattan could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor. Weinstein’s lawyers argued the encounter in 2013 was consensual during a difficult relationship, while Mann testified that she repeatedly said no and experienced unwanted sex. The case had already included an overturned 2020 conviction and a prior retrial that ended with breakdown during deliberations. Weinstein is already serving time for other sex-crime convictions in the United States. The mistrial leaves the New York rape charge in limbo.

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