Film producer Harvey Weinstein was reportedly rushed to the emergency room at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on Monday, in the wake of what's being referred to as an "alarming blood test result" that required immediate attention.
Currently awaiting retrial on sex crimes charges, Weinstein's attorney, Imran Ansari, issued a statement on his client's worsening health, pointing at alleged inadequate care administered during his stint in the infirmary at Rikers Island jail complex following a leukemia diagnosis.
“Harvey Weinstein, who has been suffering from a lack of adequate medical care and enduring deplorable and inhumane conditions on Rikers Island, has been transported to Bellevue Hospital for emergent treatment due to an alarming blood test result that requires immediate medical attention," said Ansari in his statement "It is expected that he will remain there until his condition stabilizes. His deprivation of care is not only medical malpractice, but a violation of his constitutional rights”
In an additional statement, Weinstein's spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, said Weinstein was facing "cruel and unusual punishment" on Rikers, New York's "troubled jail complex" which a judge recently ordered put under federal receivership due to woeful conditions, and which must be closed by 2027 under New York City law, according to People.
Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of first-degree criminal sexual acts and third-degree rape, for which he was sentenced to 23 years in prison, prior to his conviction being overturned on appeal in April and then re-positioned the following month for a retrial.
