I must admit to being flabbergasted how rich and powerful men (like Cosby and Weinstein and Danny Masterson) behave as if the charges they face for raping multiple women are just “no big deal” and they will be able to defeat these charges because they are so much more powerful than all the victims.
I find it amazing they seem to believe they are really in no danger when it seems to me, they have almost zero chance of escaping serious prison time.
Even after Cosby was sentenced to many years in prison, he seems to be acting as if this is just a minor setback and he will soon be out and once again be much loved by all of America. Unbelievable!
My predcition is that none of these men will escape prison. Weinsten will be sentenced to a very long prison term - at least as long as Cosby. And all of them may behave as if that will just be a short minor setback. But before their prison terms are finished, they will all have to face the facts and they will all become very different people - very distraught and very broken men.
I dunno…Yes, most people would become distraught and broken. But these guys are different than most people.
Take for example Bernie Madoff; He’s been locked up for over a decade, and hasn’t shown any remorse at all.
And “pharma bro” Shkreli isproudly continuing to run his business rackets from inside prison.
The reporting I’ve read indicates he’s not being well-behaved. He ignored repeated “put down your phone” orders from the judge. The judge threatened to throw him in jail.
So, in a classic Trumpian move, Weinstein decided that the cell phone kerfuffle was evidence that the judge was prejudiced and tried to get him removed.
The problem with the Cosby accusations were the length of time from when the incidents happened. Even those where the statute of limitations have not run out become difficult to prosecute.
Also the number of accusers isn’t really the issue. They aren’t going to court for being a serial rapist. They’re getting tried for specific acts. Cosby was convicted of assault against one woman.
If all the women who are accusing him testify then I think he’s going to jail.
Just remember witnesses - if the defense lawyer asks you questions like “what color was the hotel door?” or any shit like that, it is perfectly fine to reply that you do not recall such inconsequential details. But if you say it was blue, they will prove it was yellow, and your story will be called questionable.
The reason Cosby was convicted was that the judge allowed the testimony of other accusers because he had a signature style of assault and the law allows testimony of other crimes if they share a signature pattern.
To my knowledge Weinstein did not have a signature pattern to his assaults and thus the testimony of his other accusers will not be admissible. Only the two women accusing him will be able to testify. If the prosecution gets the judge to allow testimony from other victims, Weinstein is done for.
The reporting I heard was that he was on his cell phone while the judge was in chambers and that the judge then came out and asked if that was what he wanted to spend the rest of his life in jail for. I am not a legal scholar but it seems extreme to threaten life imprisonment for texting when court is not in session.
I think he will get off this trial or have a hung jury and then he will get tried in California, and various jurisdictions will keep charging him until he gets tired of it and pleads to a sexual assault charge.
The judge has already ruled that four additional victims can testify for the prosecution. The total of six is the same number that were called on the Cosby trial.
Does Danny Masterson really belong in this list? I’ve heard nary a peep from him since the charges were first laid. Looking over his Wikipedia article just now, I see that early on he did release some sort of a statement that effectively declined to comment on the allegations outside of court. Have I missed subsequent coverage of him expressing an overly entitled attitude?
Edit to add for clarification: This doesn’t mean he’s a free man. He was found guilty in more than one proceeding and he stays in prison under a different conviction.
"We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” Judge Rivera added for the Appeals Court majority of the trial overseen over four years ago by New York Supreme Court Judge James Burke. “The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light. The synergistic effect of these errors was not harmless.”