Source: Star Tribune via Getty Images / Getty
Harvey Weinstein is expected to go to prison for a long time after his sexual assault convictions. According to CNN, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison, which should silence the many Bill Cosby apologists who claim Weinstein isn’t chastised as much as Black male celebrities accused of sexual assault.
MORE: ‘Free Bill Cosby’: Snoop Dogg Capes For Black Men While Slamming Oprah and Gayle King
Weinstein was sentenced on Wednesday in a New York courtroom after a trial many people believed was a culmination of the #MeToo movement and sexual assault survivors speaking out.
Judge James Burke sentences Weinstein to 20 years in prison for first-degree criminal sexual act and three years in prison for third-degree rape. Both sentences are to be served consecutively and five years of supervision will also be upheld after his release. Weinstein will also have to register as a sex offender. “This is a first conviction, but it is not a first offense,” Burke explained.
Before Weinstein’s sentencing, the 67-year-old former Hollywood producer addressed the court with a statement. “I really feel remorse for this situation,” he said. “I feel it deeply in my heart. I will spend my time really caring and really trying to be a better person.”
“I’m not going to say that these aren’t great people,” he also said in reference to his accusers. “I’ve had wonderful times with these people.”
Weinstein arrived to court in a wheelchair and in handcuffs. Once his sentence was handed down, his accusers cried together in the front row. The sentence also received praise from prosecutors and leaders of the #MeToo movement. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said the sentence “puts sexual predators and abusive partners in all segments of society on notice.”
Weinstein’s charges were based on the testimony of Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, both of which gave statements during Wednesday’s sentencing.
“If Harvey Weinstein had not been convicted by this jury, it would have happened again and again and again,” Haley said to the court. “I’m relieved he will now know he’s not above the law. I’m relieved there are women out there who are safer because he’s not out there.”
Weinstein still faces felony charges in Los Angeles, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint. Prosecutors claim he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another in two separate incidents over a two-day period in February 2013. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office has started the process of extraditing Weinstein to California to face those charges, the agency mentioned in a tweet. No arraignment has been scheduled yet. Weinstein was staying at Rikers Island jail prior to his New York sentencing.
Since the news of Weinstein’s sentencing has hit social media, folks couldn’t help but drag Bill Cosby apologists, like Snoop Dogg, who constantly redirected sexual assault condemnation from Cosby to Weinstein, arguing that white men never get reprimanded.
Cosby is currently serving a sentence of three to 10 years in state prison for three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand. His sentence was handed down in September 2018. Cosby was also ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 plus the cost of prosecution, and he was classified as a “sexually violent predator.”
With Weinstein’s recent sentence of 23 years, plus probation, plus registering as a sex offender, it’s hard for Black rape apologists to use him as an example of injustice towards Black men. Social media was fully prepared to ridicule these people with humorous memes and gifs. Check some of them out below.
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