(I keep hearing that people don’t want to drag out the victim again, but there’s no need. We have her testimony on file, we have Polanski’s guilty plea to reduced charges. All that awaits is sentencing. We can wrap this up fairly quickly.)

Here’s a pretty good article, even if the folks over at Salon are sometimes blustering and crazy. http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/09/28/polanski_arrest/index.html It’s basic message is that we can’t forget that Roman Polanski raped a child. Period.

ah, if only he were a Republican…

I have NO idea what fdsa is saying. This has nothing to do with being a member of a particular political party.

Queno, it’s interesting you thought of Michael Vick. For some odd reason, as I was writing this, I was thinking of Plaxico Burress. Plaxico shot himself in the leg and he is still doing two years in prison for carrying around an unregistered gun.

It seems to me that if Plaxico can injure himself, destroy his own career and still be sent to jail – that Roman Polanski should do the time.

Illegal dog fighting ring (does not equal) rape of 13 year old…

I think Davis is right, he already pled guilty and the trial is over. I think he just has to serve his time now.

It confuses me as to why people would be against him serving that time. It seems a bit strange to waste manpower on a case this old, especially since the victim has said she doesn’t care if he is prosecuted, but now that they have him he should get the punishment he deserves.

#6: Exactly.

There isn’t a lot of similarity between the athletes and Roman Polanski – except that they are talented celebrities. The point is that these athletes have been punished with jail time for lesser offences than rape. So why should Polanski not have to face justice?

The comparison being made is a bit odd – but sometimes odd comparisons can still be used to make a point.

I like the linked Slate article above – it drives home the point: “he raped a child.” Kind of hard to ignore that point – but a bunch of people seem to be trying to do exactly that.

Firstly: I agree that he should be in prison and for a long time and also find it disturbing that European politicians think he should be let off because he makes good films.

However, this case is not as clear cut as has been made out. Polanski struck a plea bargain and served time in jail and his confession must be seen in that light. Due to media attentiopn and public opinion the judge in the case sought to renege on that bargain. That has to cast doubt on the quality or usefulness of Polanski’s original testimony. It also raises questions about the US justice system and the danger of trial by media.

Having said all that – I return to my original point: Polanski should be extradited and stand trial and be sentenced to time in prison, regardless of his talent or age, IMO.

For me, exile is an acceptable alternative to incarceration, and any other land that wishes to host the exile is welcome to him and deserving of him.

Left Field,

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Joyce McKinney. That is quite a bizarre case isn’t it? She got away with it because of the novelty of the whole situation. Who would want to believe that a Mormon missionary got kidnapped by a former beauty queen and forced to have sex? Unreal.

If exile was the punishment it might be acceptable, but he chose exile over the actual punishment. If I let my kids decide on their punishments they’d be fat from chocolate ice cream instead of missing their television privileges.

I saw an interview with the victim yesterday and she said, “He took me into the bedroom and I thought ‘I can’t believe I’m going to have sex with Roman Polanski.’” While I don’t for one minute condone what he did, there are people who work in that world whose morals are not what the morals of “normal” people are—where were this girl’s parents and what in the hell was she doing at that party? She didn’t seem in the least bit traumatized and she’d reached a settlement (money talks) with Polanski years ago and dropped it. She wants it dropped.

You know, I’ve been watching this deal with McKenzie Phillips closely and I feel really really bad for her. I think it’s easy to get caught up in celebrity and under the influence of drugs, totally lose all sense of common decency. I don’t have a problem with her making it public—although I think she’s doing it for the money—but if there was any sense in that family, she’d be in a clinic for a long, long time. Because sleeping with your father and convincing yourself it was an affair, for ten years, has got to screw you up forever.

I’m certain this deal with Roman Polanski is only the tip of the iceberg as far as celebrities committing this sort of crime. I have mixed emotions. The victim doesn’t care. She claims to be okay. How much will it cost to put him in prison? Is it worth it? It would have been a lot more meaningful if it had happened when she was 13 and before she was paid off.

On a totally different note, I just read a book called “The Girl in the Red Coat” about a little girl who had hidden from the Germans during the Holocaust. She writes about her cousin, Roman, who was brave as a boy and somehow avoided the Germans and managed not to starve to death and who was always putting on family plays. It was Roman Polanski. It’s not a very good book, the first half just builds and builds, but ultimately has no point and then it devolves into a sort of self-pitying boring story about her life after the war.

But I just thought that was interersting that Roman Polanski was her cousin.

Annegb,

I had no idea about Mckenzie Phillips, or even John Phillips. What a dangerous way to live.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/6228133/John-Phillips-a-lifetime-of-debauched-and-reckless-behaviour.html

She also said “We did photos with me drinking champagne,” Geimer says. “Toward the end it got a little scary, and I realized he had other intentions and I knew I was not where I should be. I just didn’t quite know how to get myself out of there.” She recalled in a 2003 interview that she began to feel uncomfortable after he asked her to lie down on a bed, and how she attempted to resist. “I said, ‘No, no. I don’t want to go in there. No, I don’t want to do this. No!’, and then I didn’t know what else to do,” she stated, adding: “We were alone and I didn’t know what else would happen if I made a scene. So I was just scared, and after giving some resistance, I figured well, I guess I’ll get to come home after this”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6851581.ece
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski

Where was her mother during this?

Could someone please explain why the statute of limitations hasn’t expired in this case? i.e. is there no statute of limitations on rape or whatever the formal charge was, in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed?

I have two opinions on this, one is that punishing him now would be like kicking a dog 20 years after he bit you; the other is that if they don’t punish him, it would be sending a terrible message to victims and pedophiles everywhere. Also, he’s probably done it again.

I’m having the hugest argument with myself right now.

I hope they extradite him and that he gets the court trial he escaped from so long ago.

You misunderstand: Polanski pled guilty to the charges, but fled the country while out on bail prior to his sentencing. If he is brought back, he will not get a trial — he will be sentenced, and the sentence carried out.

Kate Harding over at Salon.com lays out a rather damning history of the entire matter. ..bruce..

Thinking over the objection to exile—that Polanski lived in France in comfort, I still feel the same. The man can be a millionaire in a mansion as long as he stays away from decent countries and is stuck with the ones that are swell with his crime.

She doesn’t say he’s innocent, she says he paid her off and she no longer cares.

Did Polanski ever deny the drugs, the alcohol and the sex with the thirteen year old? gomez, I don’t recall that ever being at issue?

We don’t — and shouldn’t, as a regular course — take the opinions of victims into account. I know, that smacks of heartlessness, but that’s not their place. (As far as I’m concerned, it’s wrong to let victims testify at sentencing hearings.)

Plus, we’re weighing Roman Polanski according to the facts of the case (and his guilty plea) as it occurred back in the day, not today. The victim’s forgiveness does not mitigate what she testified or thought back then.

Maybe Roman Polanski should be retried using her grand jury testimony given TODAY’S attitudes toward child rapists. I think he’s looking at a better deal with the situation as it currently stands.

queno, you’re missing the point.

Her opinions don’t matter for the sake of his coinviction. The point is that she did not ever testify at trial because he pleaded guilty. The problem is that the guilty plea is the subject of a motion to dismiss because of prosecutorial misconduct. If that is granted, he would have to be tried and she would have to testify, which she has said she will not do. So if the guilty plea is withdrawn, he will never be convicted. Case dismissed.

wouldn’t the statute of limitations apply? Or isn’t there one in this case?

Not when you flee the jurisdiction, it tolls (suspends) the running of limitations.

And MCQ, they don’t need her testimony. The guy filmed the event and gave interviews later about it. You can try him quite easily with his confession (the interviews) and the film.

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Her opinions don’t matter for the sake of his coinviction. The point is that she did not ever testify at trial because he pleaded guilty. The problem is that the guilty plea is the subject of a motion to dismiss because of prosecutorial misconduct. If that is granted, he would have to be tried and she would have to testify, which she has said she will not do. So if the guilty plea is withdrawn, he will never be convicted. Case dismissed.

Good point. But all that assumes he returns to face the music. Which he hasn’t.

Folks, I am sorry. I returned here late in the game and found a bunch of comments from McCoy that I found to be unacceptable. So I deleted them. I also basically got rid of comments where people responded to him. I’m sorry to be so brutal. But I don’t think McCoy’s tone or message merits space here. Certainly not on one of my threads.

In regards to Joseph Smith I will say a few things. Like many other prophets (that you can read about in the scriptures) he did some very controversial things – polygamy being only one of them. I am aware of those controversies and do not blind myself to them. However, he was still a prophet of God.

McCoy, I’ll just be frank and direct with you. Go somewhere else or go to hell. I don’t care which.