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Roman Polanski: he made a thriller
Ed321
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hope this hasn't been posted already, but:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8277176.stm
Honestly, it seems about time to me. He's never actually served time for the rape, and the only real gray area in the case is the issue of the judge reneging on a plea bargain. It seems incredibly stupid for all these people to come rushing to his defense when the fact of the matter is that he's a fugitive from justice. The idea put forward that he's somehow paid for his crimes because he had a hard life (Sharon Tate, being a Holocaust survivor) is similarly unconvincing. Thoughts?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8277176.stm
Film director Roman Polanski has been taken into custody on a 31-year-old US arrest warrant, Swiss police say.
Mr Polanski, 76, was detained on Saturday as he travelled from France to collect a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival.
The Swiss justice ministry said he was being held ahead of a possible extradition to the US for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.
Mr Polanski fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to the charges.
In recent years, he has tried to have the rape case dismissed, but a US judge formally rejected his requests in May.
Mr Polanski was initially indicted on six counts and faced up to life in prison.
He claims the original judge, who is now dead, arranged a plea bargain but later reneged.
Earlier this year, Judge Peter Espinoza agreed there was misconduct by the judge in the original case, but said Mr Polanski must return to the US to apply for dismissal.
Mr Polanski's lawyers said he would not return to the US because he would be immediately arrested as a fugitive.
The victim at the centre of the case, Samantha Geimer, has previously asked for the charges to be dropped, saying the continued publication of details "causes harm to me, my husband and children".
She has also called the court's insistence that Mr Polanski appear in person "a cruel joke".
The Swiss justice ministry said on Sunday that Mr Polanski was being held under a 2005 international alert issued by the US government related to a 1978 arrest warrant.
He will not be sent to the US until extradition proceedings were complete, the ministry added.
He can contest his detention and any extradition decision in the Swiss courts.
The Paris-born Polish filmmaker - who is also a French citizen - has not set foot in the US for more than 30 years. He has even avoided making films in the UK for fear of extradition.
His Oscar for directing the 2002 The Pianist was collected by Harrison Ford, who had previously starred in his 1988 thriller, Frantic.
France's culture minister said he was "dumbfounded" by Mr Polanski's detention in Switzerland.
Frederic Mitterrand said he "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them".
He added that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was "following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved".
The organisers of the Zurich Film Festival said Polanski's detention had caused "shock and dismay," but that they would go ahead with a planned retrospective of the director's work.
A special ceremony is planned for Sunday night "to allow everyone to express their solidarity for Roman Polanski and their admiration for his work," festival managers said in a statement.
Honestly, it seems about time to me. He's never actually served time for the rape, and the only real gray area in the case is the issue of the judge reneging on a plea bargain. It seems incredibly stupid for all these people to come rushing to his defense when the fact of the matter is that he's a fugitive from justice. The idea put forward that he's somehow paid for his crimes because he had a hard life (Sharon Tate, being a Holocaust survivor) is similarly unconvincing. Thoughts?
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/27/zurich.roman.polanski.arrested/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn
It's going to be an interesting process to get him extradited and then server a sentence for a 30 year old crime.
I concur.
I would ordinarily be swayed in a statutory rape case by the ostensible victim's call for the charges to be dropped, but in this case the reasons she gives are not that what he did was not wrong, but rather that pursuing the case has taken a toll on her and her family's lives.
The French come off looking like complete toolboxes by rushing to fawn over him.
Yeah, whilst it's hard to celebrate the idea that he might actually pay for what he did- since it'll inevitably cause more pain for the victim and her family, we'd never get any accused rapists to trial if we just concluded it would be too hard on the victim.
I don't really see how the victim should have to be involved in that if she doesn't want to.
We should try this with Bin Laden. We'll give him an Emmy for best documentary and then THUD.
He could still appeal the conviction.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
That isn't applicable here.
I think he was 30-something? Could be wrong.
It wasn't just consensual sex, though. There is a difference between statutory rape and actual rape. He gave her champagne mixed with Methaqualone and then raped her. She said no several times, so there is no ambiguity on that front either.
Just putting things in perspective.
I wonder how he's still been well respected and employed in the film industry despite him having confessed to this crime over 30 years ago.
also he drugged her
Whether they find him guilty, not guilty, or dismiss the case entirely, Polanksi needs to stand before the judge. This "cruel joke" business from the victim is just bullshit; he didn't have the right ignore our legal system, and he still doesn't.
This. Without even taking the drugs into consideration, this isn't healthy nor should it be legal.
Then drugged her? Wow...
There's a bit more gray to it than that. There have been allegations that the prosecutor was coaching the judge.
Which they're doing now.
You can't appeal without surrendering
And he was like 45 or something back then.
I don't know if they 'consummated' their relationship until she was legal or not but what I'm saying is no one talks about that shit.
I mean, on the one hand he got it on with a minor.
On the other hand it was 3 decades ago and I haven't heard anything about him molesting anyone else. Also the 'victim' is pretty much like 'kay guys even *I* moved on, can't you'?
Couldn't he just do a PSA or something? Pay a seven figure fine?
I don't know.
"Hello. I am Oscar winning international filmmaker Roman Polanski here to tell you:
Underage Poon Tang is a Bad Thang."
He drugged and raped a 13 year old and punishment in these things isn't about what the victim wants.
SERIOUSLY? Well, it is OK because he hasn't raped anybody else.
No, the victim is more like
Dude, he raped a person.
Okay let me rephrase:
The victim has tried to move on but the press just won't let her.
So it's GREAT that this case is still being pursued even to the detriment of the person raped.
And the idea of him doing a PSA about how people shouldn't do that is funny.
There was also a financial settlement between Polanski and the victim. Do you really want to establish a precedent that a person can be convicted of rape, flee justice, pay the victim off, and then have the whole thing go away because the victim requests it?
Most trials of a significant weight (rape, murder, whatever) are pretty excruciating for the victims and their families but we still do it because we have to.
Har, why don't you quote the bits you're leaving out?