September 30, 2009
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Roman Polanski and the 13-Year-Old Girl
Roman Polanski is a famous director.
He has been in the news because he was arrested last week in Switzerland.
He raped a 13 year old girl about 30 years ago. He gave her Champagne and a drug. He then had oral and vaginal sex with her and later had anal sex with her. He served 42 days in a mental institution but he was afraid the judge was going to sentence him to prison. So he took off.
Now he has been arrested and several actors are saying he should be freed. Here is the link: Link
The thinking is that he has had a rough life in that his wife was brutally murdered plus he went on to have a brilliant directing career.
Should Roman Polanski be freed or should he have to serve out his prison term?
Comments (161)
GO TO PRISON.
do the crime do the time
p.s. she’s a little girl so that’s worse in my eyes!!!!
p.p.s. I’m first?!
neither. he should be executed.
um, there are no exceptions.
Serve out his prison term. It might just be because I was sexually abused as a child, and I have a hard bias against anyone that would do that to any other human being, but he should in no way be softened against because of his career or the sitations he was in. If we let him off the hook, we might as well let all criminals get off easy because of the lives they’ve had. Sure, he might have been through some hard stuff, but it was HIS CHOICE to harm another human being. Not okay. He needs to serve penance for it.
And if he won’t do it here, God will take care of what punishment and retribution we were too scared and cowardly to administer.
His victim has said she has forgiven him and that he should be free, just sayin’
Yes.
LOL. Oh man, he’s such a creepy director..
It would explain that unneeded nude scene in the old school romeo and juliet..
That man needs to be kept behind bars.
yeah and if it was some dude off the street, a nobody, who also had a rough life and what not…. then what?
If you cant do the time, dont do the crime. Just sayin’.
Oh, he’s famous, he’s too important, he must be set free. We can’t have a famous director is prison! What is wrong with society when they think our famous people should be treated the same as the common man?
you have to be a special kind of sick to condone the release of a man who got a 13 year old drunk and then sodomized her.
Does the time!
if it was the daughter of any of these actors who said he should be freed, would they still want him free? Lock him up until the last day of his miserable life
Serve.
Serve his prison term.
@MagisterTom - Exactly, he shouldn’t have to go through what Paris went through!! *Your comment made me smile and want to laugh (but I can’t since my roommate’s asleep).*
But yeah, he should have to do the time. Even though his victim has forgiven him, he still didn’t serve the same amount of time that a common man convicted rapist would serve. It’s not fair and will help perpetuate the idea that celebrities shouldn’t be treated the same as us.
Dear Dan,
Polanski should be exonerated of all charges. The girl, who is now a woman, forgave him long ago. A few months ago, following leads from an HBO documentary, Polanski’s lawyers asked the Los Angeles D.A.s office to drop the case. One of the things they brought up was that the director had never been extradited, and travels around Europe freely. The D.A.s office chose this opportunity to reopen extradition proceedings, and that is why he was detained in Switzerland.
If he is extradited, and this will have to be okayed by the Swiss authorities, then the case will be reopened, and the fact that the judge in the original trial made deals with the prosecution will come out in the trial. Polanski already spent time in prison for the crime, and was to be rearrested when he was freed from prison back then. That’s when he fled the country. If there is a new trial, he will be exonerated.
However there should be no need for a new trial. Hopefully, the two sides will come to an agreement, and Roman will be freed of the charges. As I stated, he has been publicly forgiven long ago.
His life has been filled with pain. His parents died in a concentration camp (if memory serves). His pregnant wife Sharon Tate was killed by the Manson clan. He’s suffered enough. The D.A.s office is the guilty party. He already served the time which was agreed upon.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
They would have taken his hard life into account at sentencing. That was a brutal rape and the girl was only 13. He no longer is a threat and they can take all that into account to lower the time he spends in jail. Remember that last word . . . jail
I will lose all faith in our justice system if this guy doesn’t go to jail
i can definitely see the article’s point. jsut because he’s famous doesn’t mean he should get let off. just because other stars sign a petition for him to be released doesn’t mean he should be released. because he’s famous, that shouldn’t mean anythingin the legal system. you can’t play favourites (you shouldn’t be able to, either). it’s just unfair, and stupid. the normal people have no means to challenge the law if the celebrities write it. so he should do his jail time.
What’s the statute of limitations on rape? Does that even apply in this situation? Otherwise, I would say that he should be treated no differently than any other situation.
No special treatment. What they would do with an ordinary person in this situation, let them do with Roman Polanski. Whatever that would be.
….I can’t believe the guy is not in jail yet.
No special treatment…his crimes were horrible, he should do the time.
If the victim forgave him, then he should have some kind of leniency.
Prison!
so its ok to rape ppl as long as you and your friends are famous….I think not…If it was a lesser crime I might see some protesting. But He scared somebody for life…so I think he should have to do something for these actions.
I hate paedophiles.
Having said that, we really don’t know what the circumstances of the case were. As a victim of childhood abuse myself, I cannot stand people that abuse children, however, there are situations where the facts are less black and white than grey.
I am not proposing that Roman Polanski should not be accountable for his actions. What I am saying is that the circumstances need to be put into context.
There are many instances of children that have been abused in younger years growing up without the understanding that sexual promiscuousness is not normal. As I am unfamiliar with this case, I do not know if there was extenuating circumstances in this instance.
I also do not know if the woman(now) has a finacial reason to drop the case.
Even if it defies belief and the girl had “consentual sex” with Polanski, there are a number of factors that need to be cleared up. For example, “Is Roman Polanski attracted to young children and does he currently pose a threat to them?”
I believe Polanski needs to be under psychological observation and treatment until this question is resolved.
Past behaviour remains the primary indictator of future behaviour, but there are instances in history where this does not prove to be the case.
The question that needs to be answered is this, “If the matter was resolved with no conviction, would Roman Polanski remain a sexual threat to children?”
@ordinary_gir1 - wtf?! he directed that movie? i did NOT know that. we watched it in class XD (SOOOOOO AWKWARD. my teacher was like AVERT YOUR EYES!)
send him off to jail, teach him what anal sex feels like.
@Chinese_Sait0u - lol YAH! my teacher described it as .. “this movie is directed by roman polanski… he was a good director but after that thing about raping an underage girl he’s kinda on the run” XD!
The female has said she does not want him to be punished. He is also 75. I think he should be let go to die somewhere besides prison. And monitored.
Hm. Famous people are still people. Treat them (and him) just like everyone else.
He should go to jail. It’s RAPE. She was THIRTEEN. End of story.
Fuck that, even Sam Geimer is upset by the arrest
@baldmike2004 - I’m not sure what makes you sooo certain he should be exonerated?
Usually, when it takes me minutes to track down a bug, I end up splattering it in anger.
We caught Mr. Polanski. It was hard work. We should be allowed to have our fun.
@baldmike2004 - im sorry, which of those tragedies makes it ok to rape a 13 year old?
@Paul_Partisan - The female has said she does not want him to be punished. He is also 75. I think he should be let go to die somewhere besides prison. And monitored.
I think you may have a point. Rape of a child becomes sssoooo okay, when as an adult, she finds it in her heart to forgive. And evasion of justice— into old age! Mr. Polanski deserves a prize!
@baldmike2004 - He was in a mental institute then fled the country before commencing his sentence. Where did he do his time?
The argument here is that an esteemed director who has had an inarguably hard life should not pay his dues because the 13-year-old girl, who is now a 43-year-old woman, has forgiven him of his crimes.
The thing is, she definitely would not be saying that if she was still thirteen and the wounds of her rape were still fresh in her memory. He fled so long ago that she no longer feels those pains with such potency, but the point is that she did feel them because he did commit a serious crime and he does have to pay for it. Instead of doing time in prison, he’s traveled around Europe and made acclaimed films. It would be ridiculous if he got a free ride just ’cause the case is so old that not even the victim seems to care anymore.
This story literally makes me gag. What a sick freak. Do the time.
For the record, Polanski was not actually charged with rape. The news reported yesterday the actual charge was ‘sex with a minor,’ which seems to be more akin to ‘statutory rape.’ The fact that there was a settlement in the case and statements from the victim seem in my mind to suggest that the encounter was at some level ‘voluntary.’
No, I did not say that made it okay. Polanski knew better (although there is some question as to his state of mind surrounding the murder of his wife by the Manson cult).
Typically my view is that punishment of ‘predators’ should involve torture and mutilation, but this doesn’t seem like a straight-forward case of child-molestation. I think there’s more to this one than the public is aware of.
he may not be a threat to any girls ever again. he may not be a bad person in his heart. he may be a genius director (not my opinion) – but he DID rape a girl and age doesn’t matter. he raped a girl. that demands justice. justice wasn’t served. it’s good the woman has forgiven him. but rape is a crime like murder and there needs to be retribution. whatever the penalty for his actions are – that penalty needs to be served.
Sure, let him go free… after all who cares if he fucked an unwilling 13-year-old girl in all available orfices while she was crying & begging him to stop, then got to live out 30 years of his life scot-free? He suffered much morethan his victim and made some great movies in the meantime so it’s all good, right?
serve.
Either do the rest of his time, or get anally/orally raped.
I believe he should do the time in solitary confinement, even though it has been many years since he has done his time, but in my opinion it wasnt long enough, the girl may publicly say she has forgiven him, but from personal experience it will always haunt her for the rest of her life. People just dont get over those kind of things. There should not be any kind of special treatment just because he is famous and made great movies, thats stupid. Also having a tough life should not be an excuse, he knew what he was doing. He was a grown man and knew it was wrong. So therefore he should suffer the same fate for many years as a regular person would. No exceptions.
Too many men who commit crimes like this get away with it. He shouldn’t be let free. If he didn’t want to do the time, he should have thought about his actions. He’s sick. I’m sure if someone did something like that to his 13 year old daughter, he’d wish them dead. Put the man behind bars and let him rot!
@baldmike2004 - That was put brilliantly.
Like who hasn’t drugged and anally raped a 13 year old girl? I mean HONESTLY.
PLUS HE MADE CHINATOWN PEOPLE!!!!
No way he should be freed! What about the girl whom he ruined?
@baldmike2004 - just because the victim has forgiven him and excused him, personally, of his heinous crimes doesn’t mean he has paid for the criminal aspect of his deeds. any pain he has suffered in his life is no excuse for the pain he caused another human being.
he should get in trouble definitely
let the girl decide. (i don`t understand why they don`t do this)
@ionekoa - I totally agree.
motherfucker should burn in hell.. i hope he ends up in sing sing
@ionekoa - Completely agree.
he was a coward for taking off in the first place. I wonder how he’d felt if Charles Manson had taken off and escaped prison?
nyrini? has good point. He already did time for this? and was to be re arrested? why no commentary about this?
anyway….if legal reason, yes he should be. I mean, apart from that other stuff…already spent time in jail?
rape is serious. even if she forgave him….he has obligation to larger society
just read link. wow. 42 days in a mental hospital, and he JUMPED BAIL!~ NOT served time. yes, extradite.
Why do these famous people think that they should be let off because off who they are! So he is a brilliant director – If he were a brilliant spinal surgeon would anyone care?. Its kinda sick how all these other famous hollwood celebs are flocking around him – you’d think if they had any humanity at all they would shun him completely…Its like they all live in there own little hollywood bubble where normal laws dont apply. It doesn’t matter how long ago it was – GO TO JAIL!
Just because the man is famous doesn’t mean that he does not have to punished for the crime he has committed.
Ever since the news broke about his rape of this little girl, he has special treatment for the last 30+ years. The girl has had been dealing with this rape every day of her life. She got no “special treatment”.
I don’t care what he does for a living, he needs to be locked away. He is amoral. The world would be safer without men like him running loose…
do the crime, do the time, no exceptions. if he were not famous or rich, he would get the punishment for it, and it shouldn’t be different just cos he is.
42 days in a mental institution is not enough time for anything – not long enough for him to learn his lesson, not long enough to undo the things that led him to molest that child. there is no way on earth that he could be rehabilitated and safe from those 42 days in an institution.
@EvilGeniusGirl - in most developed countries, the statute of limitations is 10 years.
Go to jail, thats what everyone else is doing. -_-
This piece of trash should be forced to go to prison and maybe he will be raped a a big dude named Bubba and see how he likes it up the old poop shute. I feel anyone who destories the inocence of a child deserves the death penialty. No exception
I like reading your comments. As diverse as Xanga itself.
I have a 13 year old. If that happened to her it would mess her up for life. I say he still deserves the punishment this many years later.
Serve the time.
I think he should do at least some time.
I think it should be left up to the victim to decide what happens to him.
he needs to own up for the crime he committed all those years ago…
Throw him in prison. Let him be ass raped.
serve it out!!
@relaxolgy - Excellent point.
Eh. I think it’s fairly sad that this is what we spend all of our time worrying about.
Nope. He shouldn’t be free. He did the crime. He needs to pay for it!
Plus. She was just a baby!!!!
He does the time. Period! Haul his ass back here in irons…
As much as i want to say he should go to jail.. i find it really compelling that the victim has said she doesnt want it to go back to trial.
Serve the prison term.
You know when he gets out he’s going to make a porno about 13 year old girls.
Why did it take so long to arrest him again?
And no, he should serve his time. A lot of people have rough lives, and sometimes that’s what leads to their actions. But they get their sentences. He deserves his.
should he fail to be treated like any person under the gavel of justice, it would be a shame. yes he’s important…all the more reason that he should face what music deserving to be made. I would hope that 42 days is never to be considered a standard of justice….seems too missouri for my tastes.
Prison.
It’s a crime, you go to prison, end of story. If he were a responsible person, he’d know that.
Prison. I don’t feel sorry for him because he had a “bad life”. Seems to me if that were the case he would think twice about causing someone else’s life to be bad.
I think he should serve his time.
PRISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He’s been thumbing his nose at the justice system for 30 years. It doesn’t matter that his victim has forgiven him; he never served his sentence. He shouldn’t be treated differently than any other fugitive.
No, he should not serve prision time, maybe a fine, and some community work.
As long as he hasn’t done anything since then I guess he has made himself a reformed criminal, by his own means.
He is long overdue to pay for what he did. Being a great director, going through the Holocaust and having your wife murdered doesn’t automatically make you a saint nor does it mean you get a free pass to do whatever you want. He’s bound by the law just like anyone else.
Well, if he’s supposed to finish a prison term, make him finish his prison term. It’s not like he didn’t do it.
That sounded like a really dumb comment. Oh well.
prison….found guilty and should have to serve his time.
Did he commit the crime? Oh, he did!?! Well then, I guess prison it is.
He should serve time in jail.
Would someone else not be made to serve the prison sentence? No. He shouldn’t get special treatment just because he’s a famous director.
I think he should have to serve out his prison term.
Just because he’s famous he shouldn’t automatically get “get out jail free” card. It’s fucking ridiculous.
@baldmike2004 - His life has been filled with pain. His parents died in a concentration camp (if memory serves). His pregnant wife Sharon Tate was killed by the Manson clan. He’s suffered enough. The D.A.s office is the guilty party. He already served the time which was agreed upon.
I’m not too familiar with the particulars of this rape case. But, what you say is true. He’s been through a lot. Granted, in principle, pity should not influence a ruling. But, if, as you say, he has served the time for the crime (or even a portion of the time), he should be exonerated. He’s rather old, and if it was up to me, I’d vote for allowing him to live his elderly years in peace. It’s not like he was a Nazi concentration camp assassin, ya know?
Do the time. Can you imagine a society where we are free to hurt others just because we have been hurt.
Bitch needs to serve and get fucked in the ass.
Yes, he should serve his time. There’s no excuse for what he did.
His movies might be works of art, and the woman may have forgave him, but that still does not mean he should not be sent to jail for it. The fact still remains that he did rape a 13 year old and that is completely unexcuseable.
prison
@tigerdauphin - I agree.
He should have to serve, no question about it. He violated that child and her innocence and it’s absolutely disgusting. I’m sorry for the things he’s dealt with in life, but they don’t excuse him from being an adult and refraining from putting a child through what he put that girl through.
@greenbird321 - @Unstoppable_Inner_Strength - Dear Xangans, The question is whether or not Polanski should be freed or serve a prison term. He never went to court. The time served was as a result of a plea bargain. (42 days) I consider myself well informed, and decided to do some research on what actually happened at Jack Nicholson’s house when the rape occurred. (which isn’t covered in depth in the HBO documentary.)
Dozens of movies stars have called for Polanski’s exoneration, and I admit I was on that bandwagon. However, after reading Steve Lopez’ column in the Times, I’m changing my answer. I don’t think he should be put behind bars till after a trial. But after reading Lopez’ column, in which he posts the testimony from the victim, a rape did occur, and justice hasn’t. So Polanski should in fact be extradited to the U.S. , and be put on trial. I’ve served on two juries in L.A., one a prolonged rape case which lasted two months. I have a letter from the judge praising our diligence (even though we were hung, but that’s another story.) Polanski never had a day in court, and he deserves one. His lawyers can actually be blamed for his current arrest, because they are the ones who called for the charges to be dropped after the documentary came out and mentioned that the L.A. DAs office has never called for extradition. Coincidence that two months later he’s being extradited? I think not. So I respectfully change my opinion to one that he should be sent back here, regardless of his age or fame, to face the music. If a jury exonerates him, then let it be. I stated that the victim had forgiven him, and she was granted an ‘undisclosed sum” from Polanski, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that there was a rape, and justice was never carried out.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
no, since he’s so important in this world he shouldn’t have to adhere to the laws. Laws are only for the common-folk, everyone knows that.
I think that for a man well into his 70′s to be put on trial for a rape that happened so long agon is a terrible waste or resources. I was raped as a child and the man who did it never went to jail. He is old and sickly now and couldn’t hurt a fly. I can’t imagine wanting to dredge that all up in a trial just so I could see him in jail. If I thought it would keep him from hurting someone else I would say do it, but I think it’s just too late for that. I think that tragedy in his life has nothing to do with whether or not he is tried for this crime. I think it’s more a matter of whether or not he is a threat to society and whether or not his victim is satisfied that justice has been done.
I am not a judge or lawyer for the very reason that I do not like to make judgements on others.
@KevtheMoron -@BelisaAmbrose – @ionekoa - @twosidedme -
Dear Xangans, The question is whether or not Polanski should be freed or serve a prison term. He never went to court. The time served was as a result of a plea bargain. (42 days) I consider myself well informed, and decided to do some research on what actually happened at Jack Nicholson’s house when the rape occurred. (which isn’t covered in depth in the HBO documentary.)
Dozens of movies stars have called for Polanski’s exoneration, and I admit I was on that bandwagon. However, after reading Steve Lopez’ column in the Times, I’m changing my answer. I don’t think he should be put behind bars till after a trial. But after reading Lopez’ column, in which he posts the testimony from the victim, a rape did occur, and justice hasn’t. So Polanski should in fact be extradited to the U.S. , and be put on trial. I’ve served on two juries in L.A., one a prolonged rape case which lasted two months. I have a letter from the judge praising our diligence (even though we were hung, but that’s another story.) Polanski never had a day in court, and he deserves one. His lawyers can actually be blamed for his current arrest, because they are the ones who called for the charges to be dropped after the documentary came out and mentioned that the L.A. DAs office has never called for extradition. Coincidence that two months later he’s being extradited? I think not. So I respectfully change my opinion to one that he should be sent back here, regardless of his age or fame, to face the music. If a jury exonerates him, then let it be. I stated that the victim had forgiven him, and she was granted an ‘undisclosed sum” from Polanski, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that there was a rape, and justice was never carried out.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
(Sorry for the double post. I didn’t realize there were more people who addressed me.)
While giving anyone alcohol and drugs and then having sex with them while they are under the influence is criminal, in this case, for one thing, he did not know what age she was and it was observed that she looked like a young woman in her early 20s, not a minor. That at the very least would change the sentencing. The victim herself doesn’t want this to go on and says that it causes pain to her entire family whenever it is brought up. She got a settlement and apparently that was good enough for her. I’m wondering why they have such a bee in their bonnet about this particular celebrity. Usually they’re pointing the finger at the victim and implying that they weren’t such a victim, as in the case of Mike Tyson.
…and what was a 13 year old doing at a party at Jack Nicholson’s house anyway? Even if you don’t account for the fact that alcohol was being served and that in 1977 there was a big drug culture.
@soul_survivor - ahhh, after reading bald mike’s comment, it makes a bit more sense. There was a documentary and obviously the powers that be were embarrassed.
@soul_survivor - You replied to yourself? LOL! That’s funny.
@baldmike2004 - You, sir, have earned a tip of the hat from me. If everyone took the time and effort to research and ponder issues before spouting off their opinion, or worse yet, acting on it, the world would be a much better place. Kudos.
No, he doesn’t deserve jail time because he’s such good director and has made some amazing movies…..
HA. Doesn’t that sound stupid? The girl that was raped deserves justice! He needs to rot in prison.
He should be executed, he should not cost tax payers more money in prison.
Any regular person would have gone to jail for it, so should he.
Serve, just because he’s famous doesn’t mean he is above laws.
hes a sicko and needs to be put in prison
Just because he’s a famous director does not mean he shouldn’t have to serve his time. It seems so many celebrities get it off easy when common man still has to serve time if they get into that type o predicment.
The coward should go to prison!
I’d stick him in prison…
That’s disgusting. Do the time and more.
He needs to be punished.
He didn’t rape her, or drug her. She drugged herself. The victim is willing to forgive him and move on, what gives anybody else the right to be outraged on her behalf?
The guy was a Holocaust survivor, and his wife and unborn child were ritually murdered by a psychotic hippie cult. If anybody deserves a guilt free piece of teenage ass, it’s him.
@tsh44 - You make a good point, too. Do people desire to see him go to jail because they genuinely think he’s still a threat and needs to be kept away from people for society’s good, or just out of some childish need for revenge?
She’s 43! and she’s not holding a grudge, it was horrible but it has been over 30 years since it happened, old news..
@EvilGeniusGirl - the statute of limitations only applies to taking someone to trial. He was arrested, charged, and issued a plea bargain. There is no statute of limitations on skipping bail and fleeing to another country.
if you are gonna commit the crime…you should be prepared to do the time… i CAN CARE LESS how old he is or what he’s accomplishments are or even what kind of life he had… he should serve his time. You can’t blame ur past/history for your actions, unless you’re insane, than he should be confined in a mental institute then…
He should get the same treatment anyone else would for that crime,regardless of his success,everyone does differint and valuable things in their life,the should be the same for him as it would be the guy next door,and if thats what he did to that girl……….its beyond horrible,no matter how talented he is as a director.
@baldmike2004 - Damn, finally someone did some research into the deal.
Wiki: In a 2003 interview, Samantha Geimer said, “Straight up, what he did to me was wrong. But I wish he would return to America so the whole ordeal can be put to rest for both of us.” Furthermore, “I’m sure if he could go back, he wouldn’t do it again. He made a terrible mistake but he’s paid for it.” In 2008, Geimer stated in an interview that she wishes Polanski would be forgiven, “I think he’s sorry, I think he knows it was wrong. I don’t think he’s a danger to society. I don’t think he needs to be locked up forever and no one has ever come out ever — besides me — and accused him of anything. It was 30 years ago now. It’s an unpleasant memory … (but) I can live with it.”
Cite: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/people,1036,polanski-victim-pleads-forgiveness,30539
The victim said all that. But, everyone else can live their vicarious revenge if they want. I don’t care.
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serve it bitch!
As I have stated before, the only Oscar that this guy deserves is a huge, hairy cellmate named Oscar.
@GunStarHero1988 - Dear John, Hey, I haven’t visited your blog since I’ve been “active” again. I’ll have to stop by ASAP and see what great literature you’ve been laying down. I don’t know if you saw the comment where I replied to some people on this string who had challenged me, and I modified my opinion somewhat. Last year, HBO aired an excellent documentary called Roman Polanski, Wanted and Desired (link the to film website). After viewing the doc, I was pretty much of the opinion that Polanski should be exonerated in full, based not only on your assessment of the victim’s response outlined in your comment, but by the fact that the prosecution botched the investigation, and the judge (now deceased) made deals with the prosecution, offered Polanski a plea bargain, and then was about to go back on his word. That’s when the director fled the country. Polanski copped to 1 count of unlawful sexual intercourse. So he’s guilty. He said so himself. As I stated in my turnaround comment, I think he should be brought back to the States. I think there should be some sort of “trial” so that all the evidence can be brought to light. I changed my mind after reading an excellent column by Steve Lopez in the L.A. Times this morning. No matter how many times the victim forgives him, he still raped her, and should at least have a day in court. Justice was never served in this case, and I’m a believer in justice.
BTW, in my ElectricMovies review of the film “The Pianist’ back in 2002, I called Polanski “one of the cinema’s last true artistic directors”. After Marty Scorsese, he’s my 2nd favorite living director. So it was easy for me to jump on the bandwagon along with everyone else in Hollyweird. He’s old. He’s had numerous tragedies in his life. Etc. However, the facts are these. He raped a girl. It wasn’t consensual. He skipped town. Then his own lawyers argued that he should be exonerated, and pooh poohed the L.A. DAs office for not extraditing him earlier. If I were the D.A., I certainly would have stepped up the the plate at that criticism, and they did. Now Polanski sits in a jail cell in Switzerland, waiting for his day in court. Finally. As much as I love the man’s work, he didn’t pay for what he did, or give the U.S. justice system a chance the first time. Mistakes were made. On all counts. Now it’s time to pay the piper. I will still think The Tenant, and Chinatown, and Rosemary’s Baby, and The Pianist are great films. I love the work of Phil Spector too, but the man was convicted of murder. I have to divorce the work from the artist, as much as I hate having to do that.
I am following this closely because Polanski is one of my favorite directors. He lived like a king for a long time. Then he brought the whole mess up again last month by asking for the case to be thrown out, without showing up in Los Angeles because he knew he’d be arrested. As Lopez so beautifully wrote in his essay, “who’s the real victim here?” It’s not Polanski.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
He should be sent back to a judge to answer for his actions. What the judge decides makes little difference to me.
He should have to serve the time.
Just because she FORGAVE him doesn’t mean anything! It’s still ILLEGAL and HORRENDOUS.
If someone killed your son or daughter and you said, ‘Oh, hey, I didn’t really like him anyway, it’s all good” is it legal? Her word is not the law and whether or not she is bothered by it now is irrelevant. A man should NEVER be with a child like that.
He should be in jail for the rest of ETERNITY.
Or at least until he dies. I mean, who wants a corpse sitting in the cell next to them? Eww.
I don’t give a damn about how hard is life was or how famous he is. He drugged and raped a young girl. He deserves at MINIMUM life in prison.
I think the law should apply to everyone, no exceptions. Doesn’t matter if you’re law enforcement yourself, a celebrity, or the freaking President. Rape of a minor is rape of a minor and skipping out on a hearing is skipping out on a hearing. No ifs, ands or buts. Period. It doesn’t matter what a brilliant directing career he has. I don’t even know why people would think that’s a reason to free him. -.-
He deserves to serve the prison time. I don’t care how long ago it was; I don’t care how famous he is; I don’t care about how hard of a life he has hard; I don’t even care that his victim doesn’t want him further persecuted because he paid out…he deserves to serve his full sentence. What kind of example would that set for other people, famous or not? It’s almost strange to me that this is a controversy…
He should have to serve it. He still committed the crime. And probably committed it before his wife was murdered and before he came a “brilliant” director.
No amount of pain in your life, and no skill as an artist gives you the right to commit a crime and get away with it.
If he was a normal person this wouldn’t even be a question. Child molesters deserve no leniency.
Victim to decide better.
How old was he when he raped her? :l What the fuck is wrong with these girls. >:l
In addition, people are put in jail not necessarily as punishment, but to prevent them from carrying out further crimes.
If that man was not in a good state of mind and his judgment was affected, he clearly is a danger due to his imbalances.
Thus he SHOULD be in jail, regardless of why he did it. The fact is that he did it in the first place.
He admitted guilt and then ran away to France – YES he should serve his sentence, anything other than that would be an abomination of justice.
They should burn him at the stake. Here, I’ll even supply the wood and matches.
Suppose I did the very same thing. Would actors petition to have me freed? I guarantee you that most anyone would express that they would be opposed to me breathing a breath of fresh air for as long as I live.
There is a certain standard we all must live up to, and no one gets to hide behind a career as a director.
Mr. Polanski surely had tragedy in his life and sympathy for those are in order, however, no matter what evils he endured justify the raping of a 13 yr old girl.
There is speculation that the original judge acted in ways that were not right and if that is true and the judge were not dead, it would be totally appropriate for the judge to face charges for laws he may have broken or be disbarred for ethical misconduct, but that does lesson the crime of rape that Mr. Polanski was charged with.
The 13 yr old girl later in life has forgiven Mr. Polanski and that was a good thing for her, as that was a step in the right direction for her to overcome the shame an horror she experienced as a 13 yr old girl being raped by a 44 yr old man. Her forgiveness does not lesson his crime.
This 44 yr old man drugged a 13 yr old girl, gave her drugs and then raped her orally, vaginally and anally. He spent 45 days in a mental facility for evaluation, was facing a sentence of 1-3 yrs, but feared a behind closed door deal would send him away for more time, so he fled. 1-3 yrs for plying a 13 yr girl with alcohol and drugs in order to rape her repeartedly in every way possible and some want less time? Sorry, I can appreciate his cinematic genius. I can sympathize with his tragic life, but this man committed a heinous crime and has eluded justice for 30ys, now he must face the consequences of his actions.
having a rough background does not give anyone an excuse to commit a crime. it may be part of the reason they did it, but it’s not an excuse.
This is so absurd, I can’t believe people are rallying for his freedom, he raped a 13 year old girl after sedating her. He had forcible, oral, vaginal and anal sex with her. He jumped bail and didn’t do his time. Just because he is a “brilliant director” doesn’t mean he is above the law and what is morally wrong! I hope they lock him up and throw away the key and anybody else who rallies for his release, especially Whoopi Goldberg and her disgusting views on what is rape and what is “rape rape”.
see Whoopi here :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIOE6-9nQ0o
The asshole should have been in jail 30 years ago! I’ve always found it so ridiculous that he’s basically a fugitive but somehow he’s making movies, and frolicking around like nothing happened.
I’ve heard many people try to defend him over the years saying “oh he didn’t know she was underage” and “oh but he’s such an amazing director”…bullshit!
It’s sad how he lost his wife and baby, yes. But that’s no excuse either.
He is a world famous rapist, so we should all forget the fact that he raped a 13 year old girl just because he had a rough life? what about the little girl he raped ?
It is a sad point that our society has reached when a question like, “should he be let go” is even asked. The man got a 13 year old girl drunk, then druggewd her, then raped her. He fled the country to avoid jail, and he has been laughing at this gilr and her parents for over 30 years., We must all ask a very important question, if he had not gotten caught, how many other little girls would he have raped in the past 30 years?
He has shown no remorse for his crime, and he never said he was sorry to the girl or her parents. The man is a sick twisted pedoflie, he borrowed someone elses house so that he would be able to commit this crime and that shows intent and planning. What is wrong with our society today, the people who say he should be let free need to go to his victom and tell her that she is nothing but garbage. I wonder how many of these sick bleeding hearts would be willing to let this sicko babysit their child?
The man needs to be publicly humileated, have his carrier distroyed, and then be sent to prison for the rest of his life. Wake up you bleeding heart morons, HE RAPED A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL!!!!!!!
He did the crime–in a very heinous way–so he should do the time. Nicholson is just lucky he was not there at the time! They both are scumbags!
You know, my opinion of Roman Polanski has definitely changed with this new information. I was a bit of a fan of his, but…I don’t care who you are. If you rape ANYONE, then you should pay the price for it. Even Roman Polanski. And that’s that.
Wow, way to put your conservative spin on this situation. Neither the girl or her mother want Polanski to do the jail time. Shouldn’t that say it all?
Ask the girl.
@ordinary_gir1 - he didn’t direct romeo and juliet, he did macbeth. and what’s wrong with nude scenes in movies? they’re used all the time especially if there are themes of love/lust/sex, which are definitely apparent in romeo and juliet. when artfully portrayed i don’t see why we’d have aversions to the human body.
his victim wants the case dropped because she doesn’t want anymore attention, which is understandable. he may have suffered but that doesn’t excuse him from serving the sentence for the crime he committed. he should be punished.
@baldmike2004 - Personally, I think what happened between him and the victim should be laid to rest. She forgave him, and that’s that. These overly emotional and… oh nevermind. But, what happened between him and the US Law on the other hand should be taken care of.
Anyway, nice seeing you again. And I, too, enjoy his work.
Just because he is an “artist” he doesn’t have to obey the law?
NO! He should face the same justice as everyone else. This is exactly why Lady Justice wears a blindfold!
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