Weinstein trial: exculpatory witnesses through – soon to be pladoyers

The sensational rape trial against former film mogul harvey weinstein is entering the home stretch. After the 67-year-old's defense finished questioning its exculpatory witnesses on tuesday, the closing arguments by weinstein's camp and the prosecution are now scheduled for the end of the week.

Starting tuesday, the twelve jurors are expected to retire for deliberations to decide on weinstein's guilt or innocence. It also became clear on tuesday that weinstein himself will not testify in his trial. This would have been possible, but with considerable risks for the defense in the event of a crossfire.

In the past few days, weinstein's defense team, led by attorney donna rotunno, had tried to cast doubt on the testimony of six women who had accused the multimillionaire of serious sexual crimes, including rape. Witnesses also testified to the friendly relationship between the alleged victims and weinstein, even after the alleged crimes had been committed.

The trial is essentially about two cases: weinstein is accused of forcing the production assistant mimi haleyi into oral sex in 2006, and he is also alleged to have raped another woman in 2013. This is the biggest trial in the "metoo-ara" – the global movement started in 2017 with accusations by dozens of women against weinstein.

Weinstein faces life in prison if convicted. In the indictment, many cases were not taken into account because they were either outdated or were not supposed to have taken place in new york. In the end, it all depends on the jury that decides whether weinstein is guilty or innocent. When the verdict will be announced depends on how long the jury needs to come to a joint decision.