Former Ranch star Danny Masterson has officially filed to overturn his 30-year rape conviction. The actor was incarcerated in September of 2023 after being found guilty of two counts of rape. Masterson and his legal team believe he did not receive a fair trial. They are feeling confident that the appeal will end in a huge win for the star.
Page Six reports that on Wednesday, 246 pages of documents were filed. Danny Masterson’s attorneys claim that Masterson alleges numerous errors and biases “violated” his “rights to confrontation and a fair trial.” The actor’s attorney, Cliff Gardner, stated there are two “fundamental flaws” in Masterson’s convictions.
“The trial court violated Mr. Masterson’s rights to a fair trial by complaining witnesses had a strong financial incentive to characterize the long past sexual encounters as forcible rape,” Gardner wrote in the legal doc.
The filing comes after the Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller asked the court for a full hearing. They want to consider sanctions against Danny Masterson’s legal team to stop contacting the jurors. Of course, there are varying opinions from celebrity news buffs following the Masterson case.
“So once again, he will whine. Complain and scream that he’s a star and doesn’t deserve to be in lock-up,” states one commenter. “Danny Masterson will win his appeal. When lawyers file so early for an appeal, it’s usually because they are confident for sure win in their corner. So confidence is driving them forward,” adds another.
Danny Masterson is housed at California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, CA. The actor continues to maintain his innocence, stating that the encounters with both alleged victims were consensual.
To date, the state’s Court of Appeal has not accepted Danny Masterson’s appeal. However, he believes the evidence speaks for itself. The documents state the arguments that Danny believes to be his best shot at overturning his current sentence.
Danny Masterson Will Likely Avoid Ashton Kutcher
Life on the inside is reportedly more manageable than expected for the disgraced star. Recent reports allege that Danny Masterson’s past year in prison has been reasonably easy. Much like his longtime friend and former party pal Sean Diddy Combs, Masterson is allegedly getting the star treatment.
Most days, he gets to go outside to get some air and sunshine. He plays sports like pickleball and basketball. Masterson also has a daily job. The former That 70s Show star’s daily job is handing permission slips to his fellow inmates. The slips permit the inmates to leave their cells for medical appointments, counseling sessions, and other activities.
In the evening, Danny must be in his cell for headcount. When he is not working his prison-assigned job, he has many other activities to help him get through the long hours. Masterson reportedly has access to a “prison-issued tablet” to play games on. He also allegedly watches TV and movies on the device. Danny also interacts with the other inmates, playing cards or dominos.
This holiday season will be Masterson’s second behind bars if he wins his appeal. Danny Masterson could likely be making his exit from prison as some of his former pals, Ashton Kutcher, may be settling in. That is if Ashton is guilty in connection with Sean Diddy Combs in the growing scandal.
Either way, don’t look for Danny Masterson and Ashton Kutcher to be reconciling their friendship anytime soon. They have admitted they know too much about the other’s history. So, there is no way they will risk inciting any further damage to their tarnished reputations. Especially after the backlash that Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher suffered last year.
