It is called justice.

No one wishes Harvey Weinstein ill health even though he wished Jennifer Anniston (click here) death. I am sure there will be appeals. The sentence will be challenged. But, the facts are plain, over a very lengthy and lucrative career Harvey Weinstein assaulted many women. He expected compliance with his wishes over a far longer period of time than the initial sexual assault.

Women in the USA clearly understand they have a right to their bodies which means, "No means, no." Hollywood has no exemption and the industry needs to clean up it's act. Every talent agent needs to clearly make it known that any sexual harassment and/or abuse of a client (female or male) will receive quick notice to the person followed by legal action and civil lawsuits for damages. There also needs to be clear understanding that there will be no false reporting to take hostage of producers or directors. While the arts tend to yield passion as a quality of it's work, that does not include taking hostage the free will of any person.

Harvey Weinstein's crimes were a surprise to this culture in the USA. Some within the industry knew of Weinstein's bad habits and nothing was done. That is called being complicit. That is a crime as well and could mean enablers will also find themselves having to answer questions and facing charges.

The culture of silence regarding crime against human beings will stop. There will be no secret understanding that success lies in living outside the law and being paid for silence. While these crimes are about Harvey Weinstein there is a culture of silence in the USA that even enabled the deaths of people in Flint, Michigan. No more. Jeffery Epstein is another unbelievable code of silence that went on for decades. This is the end of it.

Women will be respected and empowered during their careers to live a wholesome life within the arts. Nudity on the screen is not illegal. In every High School and College, people are to be taught the value of their lives and the right to demand respect for their bodies. People are never to be a commodity that power can use to a wicked and illegal end.

I wish the women involved in the Weinstein crimes healing and I sincerely wish they can now put this behind them and have a happy life and successful career.

March 11, 2020
By Colin Dwyer

Harvey Weinstein (click here) has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. Judge James Burke handed down the decision in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday as the disgraced movie mogul watched, flanked by his legal team.

His 20-year sentence for a criminal sexual act, the more serious of the two counts he was convicted of last month, is on the higher end of New York state's guidelines. For the other count, rape in the third degree, Weinstein was sentenced to three years in prison.

"We thank the survivors for their remarkable statements today and indescribable courage over the last two years," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement released Wednesday.

"Harvey Weinstein deployed nothing less than an army of spies to keep them silent," he added. "But they refused to be silent, and they were heard. Their words took down a predator and put him behind bars and gave hope to survivors of sexual violence all across the world."

The sentencing Wednesday caps Weinstein's precipitous fall from the heights of Hollywood, where, for decades, he brandished his power and influence like a blunt instrument — and allegedly sexually assaulted dozens of young women, intimidating them and others into silence.