[nolidad]

Originally Posted by JerryLove

Filmmakers demand Polanski's release - CNN.com

I mean... there are people defending him saying "he's suffered enough already", though I'm trying to figure out how a wildly successful artistic career and adulation from around the world is suffering.

There are people wondering "how we can do this to such a talented person". Huh?

He raped a 13-year-old. Whether she's "over it" or not is irrellevent.
He fled justice. He's refused to appear to sort it out.

Finally. The victim even annoys me. She says she wants this over because everytime it comes up it focuses attention on her and her family and she doesn't want that.

For 30 years she's been doing national interviews, showing up in HBO specials, etc to make sure, at every opportunity, that everyone knows she doesn't want attention. And if you missed her saying it, she'll get back on national TV and say it again.

I'm only sad that there are no defenders of whats-his-face to yell at

Depending on which venue he is tried in- he will probably walk. Which is sad.

[JerryLove]

Originally Posted by metropolis4

Given that he's already served time for this (even if it was horribly mishandeled) can he be tried again for the same crime? Or are they charging him with fleeing before the plea bargain? What can the outcome of this be?

You cannot retry an innocent person. You can retry someone found guilty all you want. There's also the charge of fleeing, which in additioning to being on-going, is tied to teh rape and likely extends statue on that as well.

[scarlet.starlet]

Regardless of how you feel about Polanski's work, he's guilty not only of raping a child, but of fleeing justice for that crime. Fear that the judge may reconsider your plea bargain is not sufficient reason for absconding from the country. However the victim feels, Polanski is now guilty of a crime against the United States, not just her.

[scarlet.starlet]

He has had a hard life, but as someone else mentioned, most people respond to tragedy in such negative ways as getting drunk a lot, getting into fights, consensually having lots of sex with adult strangers, etc. etc.

[TunerSteve]

I don't understand how anyone can defend his actions either.

My understanding about the plea bargining arrangement is something like this; The procecutor will offer a deal, usually in agreement for a guilty plea. Many times this deal includes the procecutor asking for a certain sentence for the guilty party, but the judge isn't tied to that plea-arrangement. In this case, because of public outcry prior to the actual sentencing, it appeared to Polanski that the judge wouldn't agree with the plea-bargin and serve up a more extensive sentence, which is totally in his power to do-so. Polanski ran, which in itself is yet another crime, including futigitive from justice.

The message this whole thing seems to send to victims of sexual abuse, is that if the perpetrator of the abuse is talented or rich, then the abuse never actually occured, and they should do as this victim did, and get over it. As the father of a teen-aged girl, the more I think about this the more angry I get.