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Should Roman Polanski be punished for his crime?

Should Roman Polanski be punished for his crime?

  • Total voters
    100
if it was my daughter and she got a big fat check for not testifying against him id support her...
 
katiegrrl0 said:
it is in my book. he was railroaded but maybe you expect that in your courts.
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Have you seen her contemporaneous grand jury statement? I was reading a blog post about him the other day, it linked to a copy of the grand jury testimony. He deserves jail time, IMO.


The Slow Wheels of Justice

28 Sep 2009 10:21 am


Roman Polanski has been arrested on his 32-year old statutory rape charge and is scheduled for deportation to the United States. If the girl had been 15 or 16, I think many of us would rightly say, "let it go, already". But she was thirteen. He plied her with champagne and Quaaludes. And he knew how old she was. Ick (warning: link has a pretty graphic description of anal rape.)

His victim now says she has forgiven him and doesn't want him to serve jail time, but at this point, it's not really about her. We're doing this pour encourager les autres.

The French, too, have forgiven him of course:

"Seeing him alone, imprisoned while he was heading to an event that was due to offer him praise and recognition is awful. He was trapped," French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said at a news conference Sunday. "In the same way there is a generous America that we like, there is also a scary America, that has just shown its face."​


You would think we'd busted him for unpaid parking tickets. The guy drugged a thirteen year old girl in order to rape her. Perhaps the French have some sophisticated, European point of view on these things that I, with my puritan ancestry, simply cannot rise to.

The Slow Wheels of Justice - Megan McArdle
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Enough with the America bashing. It's not helping your arguments one little bit. :roll:

In response to the poll, I picked other. You all should bear in mind that when it comes to dealing with the law, the Swiss are very much similar to Americans. It doesn't matter who you are, what great accomplishments or tragedies you've had in your life, how much money you have or how much time has passed since you committed a crime, if you break the law you're treated the same as any other criminal.

As it now stands, by challenging the extradition, this man will probably spend more time behind bars than if he just agreed to face the American courts. It could take months before he's released. Justice is already being served.
 
mae said:
It doesn't matter how long ago it occurred. He plead guilty, he fled, he deserves to do the time. I don't care how old he is.
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you people are really stuck on this. i don't understand this zeal for this. it makes zero sense in light of what the woman has been saying for years now.
 
katiegrrl0 said:
you people are really stuck on this. i don't understand this zeal for this. it makes zero sense in light of what the woman has been saying for years now.
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Child rape is one of the most brutal crimes committed in our society. Letting him off sends the message that it's okay. I'm not okay with that.
 
yea it doesnt matter if the victim herself is against sending him to jail, its about justice! wait... what?
 
katiegrrl0 said:
you people are really stuck on this. i don't understand this zeal for this. it makes zero sense in light of what the woman has been saying for years now.
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If we start ignoring our laws for famous people, we might as well just not have laws. He is wanted to stand trial for serious crimes. I am not going to apologize for thinking this is important.
 
jackalope said:
Have you seen her contemporaneous grand jury statement? I was reading a blog post about him the other day, it linked to a copy of the grand jury testimony. He deserves jail time, IMO.
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he made a deal and that was to be the end of it. when the courts changed the deal after the fact he fled. he was to be given time served. then the judge wanted to make it decades.

do you want the judge to lie to you in court? is that really justice? was that really a confession? it was all a lie to get this then they change their minds. no that is not right. besides the woman wants it done. it's okay with you that her life is a mess now because not Polanski but the US court system.

this sits well with all of you. it does not with me. no one is even considering the woman's feeling that you all seem to be so rabid to protect.
 
Arcana XV said:
Enough with the America bashing. It's not helping your arguments one little bit. :roll:

In response to the poll, I picked other. You all should bear in mind that when it comes to dealing with the law, the Swiss are very much similar to Americans. It doesn't matter who you are, what great accomplishments or tragedies you've had in your life, how much money you have or how much time has passed since you committed a crime, if you break the law you're treated the same as any other criminal.

As it now stands, by challenging the extradition, this man will probably spend more time behind bars than if he just agreed to face the American courts. It could take months before he's released. Justice is already being served.
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i am sure this is why the American prisons are filled to the brim with rich people because money doesn't matter.
 
mae said:
Child rape is one of the most brutal crimes committed in our society. Letting him off sends the message that it's okay. I'm not okay with that.
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that is fine you can just maybe get a ball bat and hit this women a few time for justice sake. she wants the nightmare over and does not want him in jail. she doesn't count. maybe you could give her hair a yank and kick her teeth for a little added justice.
 
Redress said:
If we start ignoring our laws for famous people, we might as well just not have laws. He is wanted to stand trial for serious crimes. I am not going to apologize for thinking this is important.
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this has nothing to do with the fact that he is an awesome director and a very nice person. it has to do with the fact that the courts cheated him and got a confession. then they pulled the carpet out and were going to have him swing.

if the man gets a brand new trial and can tell his side in a free court,( but as we see from the prevailing attitudes here that he is already guilty in your minds)
so fair trial is out.

but he knows that there is no free trial there. he is guilty in the minds of the people. he is right to fight this. this is America trying to prove something.
 
katiegrrl0 said:
i am sure this is why the American prisons are filled to the brim with rich people because money doesn't matter.
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Money matters AFTER you're arrested, not before. If you can buy yourself a good lawyer, chances are you'll get a better deal than the poor sap who has to use a public defender.
 
katiegrrl0 said:
he made a deal and that was to be the end of it. when the courts changed the deal after the fact he fled. he was to be given time served. then the judge wanted to make it decades.

do you want the judge to lie to you in court? is that really justice? was that really a confession? it was all a lie to get this then they change their minds. no that is not right. besides the woman wants it done. it's okay with you that her life is a mess now because not Polanski but the US court system.

this sits well with all of you. it does not with me. no one is even considering the woman's feeling that you all seem to be so rabid to protect.
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No deal is final until a judge approves it. Judges don't have to honor deals that prosecutors made (at least, I think they don't). But, it'd have to be unusual circumstances for them not to.
 
Arcana XV said:
Money matters AFTER you're arrested, not before. If you can buy yourself a good lawyer, chances are you'll get a better deal than the poor sap who has to use a public defender.
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i agree to a point. it matters throughout. fame and money matter. tell me about Michael Jackson. I heard so many people that said he was guilty and his money got him off. same thing. he died and was loved by a nation. so please tell me that you really want Polanski to be in jail. you have OJ and Ted Kennedy all loved all may or may not have done bad things. what point is America trying to make with this.
 
jackalope said:
No deal is final until a judge approves it. Judges don't have to honor deals that prosecutors made (at least, I think they don't). But, it'd have to be unusual circumstances for them not to.
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the judge did then he didn't that was it. this is all i am saying. he made this deal and the judge screwed him.
 
katiegrrl0 said:
that is fine you can just maybe get a ball bat and hit this women a few time for justice sake. she wants the nightmare over and does not want him in jail. she doesn't count. maybe you could give her hair a yank and kick her teeth for a little added justice.
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Fine so the next time som e Women is beat up by her Husban/Boyfriend and the DA want to throw his arse into joil for a DA your ok with the fact tat the Women decide she doesn't want him going to jail.

We have Laws in the USA this Scum jump bail and the World has been protecting his worthless arse ever since then. Oh and the Judge had final say in what type of sentance he was going ot give this Scum. I suggest you go and look up the actual court case and read the final sentance that his Laywer agree to.

I can't beleive you actually want this Scum to walk so much for your Femenist Views.
 
katiegrrl0 said:
this has nothing to do with the fact that he is an awesome director and a very nice person. it has to do with the fact that the courts cheated him and got a confession. then they pulled the carpet out and were going to have him swing.

if the man gets a brand new trial and can tell his side in a free court,( but as we see from the prevailing attitudes here that he is already guilty in your minds)
so fair trial is out.

but he knows that there is no free trial there. he is guilty in the minds of the people. he is right to fight this. this is America trying to prove something.
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He will get a trail, that is required by law. He will get a fairer trail than most. His avoiding the US to avoid facing a trail after most likely committing a heinous crime is an act of cowardice, and in combination with his accused crime, makes it highly unlikely that he is in fact a "nice guy".
 
Scorpion89 said:
Fine so the next time som e Women is beat up by her Husban/Boyfriend and the DA want to throw his arse into joil for a DA your ok with the fact tat the Women decide she doesn't want him going to jail.

We have Laws in the USA this Scum jump bail and the World has been protecting his worthless arse ever since then. Oh and the Judge had final say in what type of sentance he was going ot give this Scum. I suggest you go and look up the actual court case and read the final sentance that his Laywer agree to.

I can't beleive you actually want this Scum to walk so much for your Femenist Views.
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he was to be given time served. he was lied to. what can i say. the judge made a deal and lied to coax a confession. Polanski's attorney gave him bad advise so he should get a fair trial. and the woman will not testify so he walks. if the courts did the right thing in the first place and stopped making deals then these things would not come to this. i fully blame your court system for the mess.
 
Redress said:
He will get a trail, that is required by law. He will get a fairer trail than most. His avoiding the US to avoid facing a trail after most likely committing a heinous crime is an act of cowardice, and in combination with his accused crime, makes it highly unlikely that he is in fact a "nice guy".
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you are calling a persecuted Jew during WWII a coward how dare you. for Christ's sake. he went through what when his wife Sharon Tate was slaughtered and butchered by the Manson Family and you have the audacity to say such a thing. Jesus Mary and Joseph. pleeeeeease.
 
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mae said:
Statutory rape? He forcibly raped a 13 year old girl. He deserves to have the book thrown at him.
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Wrong. Get your facts straight. It wasn't forcible rape. It was stat rape and the sentence he was to receive was lenient based on problems that the Prosecutor had with proof. The judge reneged on the deal which is what caused Polanski to flee.

I'm not condoning the fleeing or the stat rape, however, there were considerable questions underlying the conduct of the girl and her mother and whether Polanski was aware of her age.

The bottom line...there is a lot of misinformation out there and this post is another example of it.
 
I voted "other". I don't know if he should be punished or not. That is for the court to decide. But I do think he should face his day in court and I believe he was a coward to have left the country.

No I don't think the victim's opinion is terribly relevant. We are trying to deter people who think they are above the law from doing bad things to today's children. If it was your daughter....?

I tested myself for neutrality by substituting Polanski for Dick Cheney in this scenario and that clinched it for me.
 
katiegrrl0 said:
you are calling a persecuted Jew during WWII a coward how dare you. for Christ's sake. he went through what when his wife Sharon Tate was slaughtered and butchered by the Manson Family and you have the audacity to say such a thing. Jesus Mary and Joseph. pleeeeeease.
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Did he run away instead of facing the outcome of his crime? Then he is a coward.
 
Redress said:
Did he run away instead of facing the outcome of his crime? Then he is a coward.
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Wrong again. He was willing to accept the terms of his plea. The Judge reneged and wouldn't accept the deal the prosecutor worked out.

The judge wanted a multiple year state prison sentence. The DA knew their case was weak and based their plea agreement on the facts that were proveable.

Thats what caused Polanski to flee
 
youve gotta atleast givim some credit for staying outta jail for 30 years. i mean thats gotta be a record or somthin
 
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