Should Roman Polanski be defended?

[Wadders]

I think not. He may be a good director, but since when was that a valid excuse?

A nonce is a nonce, despite previous achievements.

 

[rwstiles]

I think Roman Polanski should not only be sentenced for his conviction he should be forced to allow Whoopie Goldberg to rape him. I'm sure Whoopie would be more then willing to accomodate him if we just promised her that we understand she is an idiot

 

[Woodsey]

You have to look at this guys personal life. I personally feel sorry for him. Previously to this incident his wife was murdered by Manson followers and he gave up all his worldly possessions to relieve his pain. But I believe that in these types of cases if the victim doesn't wish to press charges, then they shouldn't be forced to.

That gives him the right to abuse someone like that does it?

He committed a crime of which he has escaped any form of punishment for for 30 years. People die, and other people will have suffered similarly to him - should we just let them all rape whoever they like now?

I'm struggling to how there's any debate with this.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I still love the movies he's made, especialy The Pianist.

As for the crime charges; Lets not compare him to Gary Glitter, okay? In my opinion he's a good guy who made an awfull mistake while being screwed up on drugs and alcohol. I'm not saying that he shouldn't stand trail, but I still feel bad for him.

 

[Abedeus]

Sure he's a rapey pedo scumbag, but he lived in France for 30 years! He's done his time.

Considering how we don't like the French, you might be onto something.

But while he wasn't a RAPIST, get your story straight, he had an intercourse with a (then) underaged person. A pedophile is IMO worse than a rapist, but only by a tiny margin due to the age of the victim.


Why he isn't a rapist? Well, seems to me like only the Polish media say that the girl he slept with confessed that she wanted it and bla bla bla.

Still, doesn't change the fact that he should be treated as a normal person that commited a crime and was running from the law for the last 30 years.

 

[timmytom1]

You have to look at this guys personal life. I personally feel sorry for him. Previously to this incident his wife was murdered by Manson followers and he gave up all his worldly possessions to relieve his pain. But I believe that in these types of cases if the victim doesn't wish to press charges, then they shouldn't be forced to.

That gives him the right to abuse someone like that does it?

He committed a crime of which he has escaped any form of punishment for for 30 years. People die, and other people will have suffered similarly to him - should we just let them all rape whoever they like now?

I'm struggling to how there's any debate with this.

I don`t think anyone is debating if he should do time (he has to rape is a crime and he should do time no two ways about it ) alot of the debate is about the worry that the justice system will give him a scentence disproportionate to his crime(at least that`s how i understand it. Though this is now getting out of hand big time. With the usual "forgiveness is the answer" types and the "he`s a pedo, kill him and rip his balls off and set him on fire" types wadeing in left right and center

 

[fix-the-spade]

Wow, survive the ghettos, survive the holocaust, then the Communists then have your wife, child and best friend murdered in cold blood and then have the world surprised when you turn out to be fucked up. Some guy's just can't get a break.

Honestly, what would locking him up in a jail with rapists (note: he is not and has never been convicted of rape, he has been convicted of unlawful sex with a minor, slight but critical difference) murderers and the like actually prove or solve?

Would it give anyone justice or just perpetuate a bullshit tit-for-tat attitude? I actually do think he could do with being locked up for a while, but a psychiatric ward would serve better than jail. Maybe for a while, maybe forever, who knows, it would all depend on how deep seated those issues are.

 

[Biek]

Heres some of the defense points ive heard:

-His wife was brutally murdered by Manson's hippie cult.

Its good to know that your spouse getting murdered will get me a "rape a 13 year old" ticket. Theres a bright side to everything.

-He lived in exile in europe for 30 years.

Theres a difference between exile and fleeing the country to avoid prison sentence for a crime youve comitted. The fact he's been avoiding the US and some european countries only proves he knew damn well that the US authorities were after him. He got caught because he mistakenly believed Switzerland was neutral too.

-He's a great director.

So?

 

[Woodsey]

You have to look at this guys personal life. I personally feel sorry for him. Previously to this incident his wife was murdered by Manson followers and he gave up all his worldly possessions to relieve his pain. But I believe that in these types of cases if the victim doesn't wish to press charges, then they shouldn't be forced to.

That gives him the right to abuse someone like that does it?

He committed a crime of which he has escaped any form of punishment for for 30 years. People die, and other people will have suffered similarly to him - should we just let them all rape whoever they like now?

I'm struggling to how there's any debate with this.

I don`t think anyone is debating if he should do time (he has to rape is a crime and he should do time no two ways about it ) alot of the debate is about the worry that the justice system will give him a scentence disproportionate to his crime(at least that`s how i understand it. Though this is now getting out of hand big time. With the usual "forgiveness is the answer" types and the "he`s a pedo, kill him and rip his balls off and set him on fire" types wadeing in left right and center

Haha, well I can't say I'm either of those. But he should do jail time (and the right amount, if not more considering he's technically been on the run for it).

I've even see someone describe it as an 'indiscretion' (which technically it is) but it's a bit too calm for what is rape. Especially as they then went on to say he should be let off completely.

About the victim, although I hate to say it, I think it should be taken out of their hands (bear with me here). Rape is obviously a degrading and violent act, and many victims don't do anything about it and ignore it completely because (in the same way as this woman) they say they want to just move on.

This doesn't make what he did OK, and the state should definitely prosecute him.

EDIT: Oh, and I didn't realise that because you're not a 'serial' paedo it means you can be left alone after being on the run for 30 years. Which is what some have seemed to use as points of defense.

EDIT (again): And someone else's pointed out that he had never been charged with rape; the guy drugged the girl during a photo shoot and then performed a number of sexual acts which she asked him to stop doing several times. He's also admitted it. If that isn't rape, I don't know what is.

 

[Sindaine]

He's probably raped other children since then, so no, he shouldn't be.

 

[SadakoMoose]

To be frank, I hope people just stop talking about Polanski alltogether and move on to more important things.
2 wars, a recession, failing auto industries, a heated situation in Honduras, several extremely deadly natural disasters, swine flu, and an increasingly aggressive anti Obama movement...and instead all we can think about is Roman Freaking Polanski?
BTW, If the media all so concerned about pedophiles...Where were they when 12chan went back online?
(recently, back offline, but still.)
All this story is going to do is increase further babbling on behalf of the talking heads regarding the situation of "hollywood values vs 'merrican values" and thus encourage populist uprising...
You know how dangerous populists can be with the right ammunition.

 

[axia777]

I think people need to remember:

The reason he skipped the country was the presiding judge at the trial is alleged to be about to overturn his plea/the deal the lawyers made in order to boost his own fame and personal career.

When you have a member of the Judicial system putting their own status before that of justice then I can't blame the man for running, as it was certainly not going to be a "fair trial" - and if I remember correctly, another judge had already agreed when Polanski appealed that the presiding judge in the first trial was corrupt.

He also has done time already. Admittedly only 45 days or something pathetic like that, but it means he has faced what the legal system viewed as "just punishment" for some of the charges (I think it was for providing drugs/alcohol to an under-age girl).

I still think he should be brought to justice, but I highly doubt he will get a fair trial this time around. The whole case is extremely high-profile and I get the feeling that America will "make an example of him". Case-and-point, Polanski has been travelling to Switzerland all throughout the last 30 years (he even oversaw the building of a house there) yet American authorities choose a high-profile event such as an award ceremony to pick him up?

Maybe the victim's feelings will be brought into the equation by the judge, but this poor woman's life is about to be turned upside-down by the media, which is not fair in any sense of the word. She's about to become a victim again, this time to the shoddy practices of modern journalism.

Essentially: Polanski fully deserves to face trial and whatever punishment on the grounds of breaking the law as the State is pushing for a conviction. However I think the whole process of taking on the defendant when the victim doesn't want the charges to be upheld is a difficult situation, and that the trial is unlikely to be fair and there is a real risk of an "example" being made of the man instead of proper justice.

Man, he all ready plead to the guilty. What the fuck is with you people? He raped, sodomized and drugged a teen girl. Then he skipped bail and bailed from the country. You people are simply insane.

You want to know about a double standard? If this guy was just a normal joe he would have been all ready serving his 15-20 years. That is the double standard. But no, Polanski is just like every other fucking rich *****. Just like OJ. They get high priced lawyers to get them off even when it is painfully obvious that they are guilty as hell.

 

[similar.squirrel]

If the girl doesn't want to press charges, so be it. He'll be a pariah until he dies anyway. No point in throwing him in prison at this stage.

 

[axia777]

If the girl doesn't want to press charges, so be it. He'll be a pariah until he dies anyway. No point in throwing him in prison at this stage.

He all ready plead guilty. He trial is over. Can you people not read? Hell, this link even has a link to the court room testimony. His trial is over, see? He just needs to be sentenced and go to jail. There is no more trial. He can try to get his conviction over turned, WHILE HE IS IN JAIL JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WHO IS CONVICTED OF A FELONY.

http://www.vachss.com/mission/roman_polanski.html

You people have all lost your minds.

 

[similar.squirrel]

If the girl doesn't want to press charges, so be it. He'll be a pariah until he dies anyway. No point in throwing him in prison at this stage.

He all ready plead guilty. He trial is over. Can you people not read? Hell, this link even has a link to the court room testimony. His trial is over, see? He just needs to be sentenced and go to jail. There is no more trial. He can try to get his conviction over turned, WHILE HE IS IN JAIL JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WHO IS CONVICTED OF A FELONY.

http://www.vachss.com/mission/roman_polanski.html

You people have all lost your minds.

Does 'whoops' suffice in situations like this?

 

[Cilliandrew]

Eh, it's a complicated situation. He obviously should have been prosecuted for the incident, but at the same time i feel a terrible sympathy for him because of what happened to his wife. I think we all would be screwed up if something like what happened to Roman happened to us.

What he did was wrong, and he should be brought to justice, but i also think that the justice system needs to take into account is state of mind at the time....

 

[axia777]

Does 'whoops' suffice in situations like this?

Yes, yes it does. I did post the wrong link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski#Sex_crime_conviction

Sorry. I got little sleep last night....

Here is a good quote:

"There is no statute of limitations governing the case because Polanski had already been charged and pleaded guilty in 1978 to having had unlawful sex with a minor.[56] A complicating issue for resolution of the case is that failure to appear is in itself a crime. As University of Southern California law professor Jean Rosenbluth noted: "The complication is that it is a separate offense to flee the jurisdiction."[57]"

 

[Amoreyna]

People seem to be forgetting that this man is already CONVICTED. It's not that he is about to be charged with a 30 year old crime, but that he has already confessed and been found guilty.

This bastard ran back to France because he didn't want to spend any time in jail. We have a treaty with France stating that we won't remove native citizens from the country for crimes committed in the US. He's been basically thumbing his nose at the US criminal system for three decades.

What's even worse is that for years after the crime he had no remorse. That's right, he didn't think having sex with a 13 year old was wrong in anyway, let alone supplying her with drugs and alcohol. It's only been in more recent years that he's stated that he shouldn't have done what he did, but personally I don't see any remorse, just self pity for the trouble he's in.

It's sad that his wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered in such a terrible way. But that does not give him license to do what he wants, nor does his track record wih films. If this was about a non-famous person who had the same kind of personal tradgey, i.e. murdered spouse, people wouldn't be jumping to his defense.

 

[Aumichan]

A crime was committed (er several), the perpetrator needs to face the consequences. Regardless of past tragedies or social status.

 

[Amoreyna]

If the girl doesn't want to press charges, so be it. He'll be a pariah until he dies anyway. No point in throwing him in prison at this stage.

He all ready plead guilty. He trial is over. Can you people not read? Hell, this link even has a link to the court room testimony. His trial is over, see? He just needs to be sentenced and go to jail. There is no more trial. He can try to get his conviction over turned, WHILE HE IS IN JAIL JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WHO IS CONVICTED OF A FELONY.

http://www.vachss.com/mission/roman_polanski.html

You people have all lost your minds.

Thank God, I'm not the only one in the world to understand that this man has already been convicted with a felony, one that will force him to register as a sex offender now in the US when he's served his time.

As for his victim - she was treated like a whore when all of this came out. She was accused of trying to further her career etc. No one in the media saw her as the victim she was, a trusting, very young woman, who was estatic to work with someone she admired and who then took advantage of her. It's no wonder she doesn't want to go through all of that again.