The jury considering rape and sex assault charges against Harvey Weinstein on Monday completed their first full day of deliberations without a verdict – no big surprise, considering the mountain of testimony the panel has to get through.
Jurors deliberated for about 4½ hours Monday, for a total of 6½ hours including last Friday’s work. They were due back Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
Jurors heard 44 prosecution witnesses – and a handful for the defense – in the two-month trial that began with jury selection on Oct. 10. Only four made accusations upon which criminal charges were based.
Four other accusers testified as support, or “prior bad acts,” witnesses. Prosecutors originally brought 11 counts based on the accusations of five women; however, Jane Doe 5 never materialized and without her testimony, four of the charges were dropped.
Weinstein could still face up to 140 years in a California prison from the remaining five counts of sexual assault and two counts of rape. He is already serving 23 years in a New York prison for criminal first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape, a conviction he has been granted the right to appeal.
