(NewsNation) — The decision to overturn the rape conviction of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been met with shock and anger as many wonder whether he will now walk free.
New York’s highest court ruled to throw out Weinstein’s 2020 rape convictions after the Court of Appeals found the trial judge in the case prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations Weinstein wasn’t charged with.
However, the decision doesn’t mean Weinstein will be released from prison.
He will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years.
The overturning reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures, an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein and helped launch the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein has been serving time in New York, most recently at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles northwest of Albany. He could be taken to a California facility to serve his sentence there, though he may be held in New York while awaiting a new trial if prosecutors choose to pursue one.
Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office isn’t giving up, which means Weinstein’s accusers could be forced to retell their stories on the witness stand.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.