‘HISTORIC FALL’

Weinstein Begs for Short Sentence, Saying He’s Already Been Punished by Fall From Grace

The former movie mogul’s legal team also argued that he is likely to die in jail due to his poor health.

Harvey Weinstein, 67, begged Monday for a lenient jail sentence given his “historic” fall from grace and alleged serious health issues. In a letter filed by his legal team in advance of Weinstein’s sentencing Wednesday for his New York City rape conviction, his defense team asked he be given only five years behind bars. The potential maximum term is 29 years. The documents argue that Weinstein’s health is so compromised that even a shorter term could be “a de facto life sentence.” After his conviction on Feb. 24, he was sent to Bellevue Hospital, where he had heart surgery and a stent inserted before being transferred to the jail at Rikers Island. Weinstein’s lawyers say he also has a condition that requires shots in his eyes so he does not go blind. Prosecutors have argued that Weinstein’s “lifetime of abuse toward others, sexual and otherwise,” deserves a sentence that “reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s offenses” and punishes him for “his total lack of remorse for the harm he has done,” prosecutors wrote.