Curious about Roman Polanski
Mood: bouncy
Posted on 2009-10-08 10:50:00
Tags: poll
Words: 90

So, if you haven't heard, Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland two weeks ago. In response, some prominent filmmakers including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen have signed a petition asking for his release. So, I'm curious:

My thoughts behind the cut:

I pretty much don't understand why this is an issue. He was tried and convicted of a pretty heinous crime and fled the country. Yeah, it was a long time ago, but sending the message that disappearing for a few decades = forgiveness of punishment seems pretty crappy to me.

2 comments

Comment from spamchang:
2009-10-09T15:17:10+00:00
I find the Swiss gov't's reasoning (as to why they hadn't arrested him earlier) to be fairly plausible and realistic. A lot of people seem to forget that extradition treaties are...well...treaties. They're agreements bound by law. You don't break the law because of your own perception of what's right, wrong, moral, or immoral. If you think the law is wrong, you work to change the law, but you do not break the law.

Comment from flamingophoenix:
2009-10-10T22:01:54+00:00
Concur! The Salon article summed it up pretty well for me: "Roman Polanski raped a child."

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