Comments on: Roman is Burning

By: thebaxter

thebaxter — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:04:38 +0000

There are so many facets to this entire debacle that is is really difficult for me to keep perspective on it.

Yeah. It really is.

By: Ahe

Ahe — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:01:59 +0000

There are so many facets to this entire debacle that is is really difficult for me to keep perspective on it. I mean, on the one hand, I don’t disagree with a lot of what’s been said here. On the other hand, Roman Polanski drugged and raped a child and then fled the country to avoid a potential change to his plea agreement. I’m not sure that it is a waste of time and energy to show that a person can’t flee from justice just because he has the resources to do so.

By: thebaxter

thebaxter — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:05:31 +0000

I did not know that he went to a prison hospital or the facts of the original trial as you mentioned. That does actually sound like he paid for his crimes, at least as much as anyone in Hollywood ever does. O.J. never ever went to jail for murdering two people. So in light of that, I agree with you. It would be pointless to make him “pay” now.

By: mtk

mtk — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:29:56 +0000

I learned some interesting things about this case while debating it with somebody who, liberal though they claim to be, believes that Polanski needs to pay for his crimes, even 32 years later, because the law is the law. I disagree. But more on that in a second.

Anyway, what happened is that Polanski actually went to a prison hospital (for psych evaluation) for 45 days back in 1977-78, and that was supposed to be that, but then the judge (now deceased) who sent him there seemed to be on the verge of sending Polanski to REAL jail for 45 more days, which went against his original word. Polanski feared punishment (read: anal rape) by his inmates and fled for France. So since he already pleaded guilty to the crime, technically he could be extradited to the U.S. and sentenced without a trial. More likely is that Polanski will be allowed a retrial based on allegations of judicial misconduct back in 1977-78. And the case might also simply be dismissed, or Polanski set free with a judgment of “time served”. Who knows? In any case, the irony is that had Polanski never copped a plea, the statute of limitations on his crime would have run out in 1987!

As for my opinions on his state of mind… I know he went through a dark time, but there are millions of people who go through dark times, even darker times, and don’t rape 13-year-olds. His crime was more the crime of a debauched megalomaniac than a wounded artist. My opinion only. But putting him in jail now would be completely pointless. It’s not going to “rehabilitate” any part of him that hasn’t been rehabilitated over the past 32 years, and it’s silly to think that it will make the children of America (or France) safe from the clutches of this 76-year-old man. It’s a waste of time, energy and money.