The sickly year-old is soon set to go on trial again on charges alleging he forcibly performed oral sex on an assistant in as well as the rape of an aspiring actor in Weinstein appeared in a frail state as he entered the Lower Manhattan courthouse in a wheelchair today - more than half an hour after the hearing's scheduled time.
The disgraced producer pleaded at a hearing in state court in Manhattan: "Everyday I'm at Rikers Island [prison], it's a mystery to me how I'm still walking. Weinstein added that at times he finds himself gasping for air and predicted that he would soon be in a hospital again for treatment. He proceeded to quiz the judge about his trial calendar, including jury selection in another matter that is set to begin Monday. New York judge Curtis Farber lead the court proceedings and decided on an April 15 start date for the MeToo retrial after Weinstein's conviction was overturned last year.
In another rare moment of honesty, convicted rapist Weinstein spoke in court as he begged and pleaded with Farber to allow him out of his "hellhole" jail at Rikers Island. Weinstein went back and forth with Farber trying to negotiate an earlier date - even offering to move it to April 7. Farber rejected his pleas due to a busy court schedule but said he would see how his other planned trials progress. Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala has argued for weeks that his client's trial should be moved forwards because of the disgraced film icon's declining health.
He argued last week in court: "They know that Mr. Weinstein is dying of cancer and is an innocent man right now in the state of New York. The New York judge also announced a fresh allegation involving a woman not included in the original case will now be added to the proceedings.
The additional charge, first filed last September, accuses Weinstein of giving consensual oral sex to a different woman at a Manhattan hotel in The film mogul and his team originally wanted this extra charge thrown out after arguing Manhattan prosecutors only brought it up after New York's highest court overturned the original rape conviction.
