Justice must be done for harvey weinstein’s victims. Should it be tempered with mercy?   | thearticle

The conviction of Harvey Weinstein for rape and sexual assault in a New York court means that the former film mogul will probably spend the rest of his life in prison. He faces further

charges in Los Angeles, but many more women have lined up to accuse him whose cases may never come to court. The verdict indicates that the jury had concluded that Weinstein had displayed a

pattern of sexual violence and abuse over many years. It is impossible to be left unmoved by the sight of such a powerful man in Hollywood brought low by the comparatively powerless women

whose vulnerability he had exploited.  How are the mighty fallen — and yet how seldom have their victims been vindicated by the criminal justice system, especially in America. For once,

money, influence and fame availed the predator nothing.  He now has no choice but to take his punishment. Though his medical conditions mean that he is temporarily hospitalised, his new home

will be one of the jails on the notorious Rikers Island. Weinstein will have little opportunity for rehabilitation there; indeed, he will be lucky to escape violence at the hands of other

prisoners. Other high security prisons to which he might be transferred are not much better. The United States has always dispensed rough justice, but though the system is so distorted by

plea-bargaining — banned in Britain — that some have been able to escape its worst rigours, the principle of equality before the law is sacrosanct for Americans. In Europe, people are often

shocked to see the rich and powerful handcuffed and made to share the cells with common criminals. In the US this is the rule, not the exception. The fall of Harvey Weinstein prompts the

question: can such a man ever be forgiven? As he heard the verdict, the disgraced producer repeatedly told his lawyers: “But I’m innocent.” For as long as he protests his innocence, he

cannot be paroled. Nor can the long process begin that might lead to ultimate redemption. Weinstein’s defence, that he was merely guilty of “bad behaviour”, did him no favours. Just as he

showed no mercy to the women whose lives he ruined, so they showed none to him. Forgiveness was, indeed, the last thing in the minds of his accusers. “He will rot in jail as he deserves,”

one of them said. Another commented: “This is just the beginning.” Other men in high places with predatory tendencies will perhaps think twice before risking the fate of Harvey Weinstein.

Deterrence is, of course, one of the functions of the law.  And yet another of its purposes is to temper justice with mercy. The retribution meted out to Weinstein is likely to be harsh by

British standards, even taking into account the many cases which for various reasons will never come to court. In court he struck a pitiful figure, seemingly broken in body and spirit.

Nothing will be gained by treating him as the devil incarnate.  It is not impossible that he will one day repent and beg forgiveness from his victims. Whether these women will forgive Harvey

Weinstein is for them to decide. When Elizabeth I’s favourite, the Earl of Essex, betrayed her and led a failed rebellion, her words to the traitor before he went to the scaffold echo down

the ages: “May God forgive you,” the Queen said. “But I never can.”