Harvey Weinstein is going to prison. That is not good enough

by Ben Leit ’22, Opinion Writer

The Spectator
The Spectator

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATION

Last week, a New York jury convicted former film producer and long-time rapist Harvey Weinstein of two heinous crimes: first degree sexual assault and third degree rape. Weinstein now faces a sentence of 5–29 years in jail, meaning that (at least until 2025) Weinstein will be exactly where he belongs — behind bars.

Weinstein’s trial is singularly consequential. His sentencing demonstrates to the public that nobody is too powerful to be impervious to their crimes. His sentencing is a massive achievement for the #MeToo movement. His sentencing will hopefully usher in a new era of common decency, male accountability, and workplace ethics.

But justice is not completely served. In October 2017, when The New York Times and The New Yorker reported the allegations against Weinstein, more than a dozen of his victims voluntarily stepped forward to accuse him of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. More than a dozen of Weinstein’s victims — who had been violated grotesquely — had to re-live their suffering by coming forward to accuse him. So far, Weinstein has only been found guilty on the two aforementioned accounts; in fact, in that same New York trial, he was found not guilty on more criminal charges than he was accused of (2 out of 5). Granted, Weinstein will spend time in prison — but not even close to the extent that he deserves. For the majority of the women who suffered at his hand, justice has not been served.

The #MeToo movement has been criticized since its inception. Time and time again, the American public has proven that they prefer to ignore difficult issues than face them directly. Thus, swathes of people have claimed that many allegations of sexual assault are hurled simply to garner attention. Nobody likes to face the ugly truth. Nobody wants to admit we have an extensive, institutional problem with sexual assault. Nobody wants to recognize that by impulsively denying the myriad accusers of sexual assault, we reveal just how implicitly regressive we are.

The relative lightness of Weinstein’s punishment demonstrates all of these things. Only two of his accusers were able to successfully charge Weinstein with rape/sex abuse/sexual misconduct, and he was only found guilty on two of their charges. Every time that the #MeToo movement is discussed, we must understand that there is absolutely no incentive to fabricate an instance of sexual assault. And when a sentencing as consequential as Weinstein’s is announced, we must remember that we can undoubtedly do better.

But for now, it’s a start. And you have to start somewhere. Have fun in jail, Weinstein.

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