The Director or the Criminal
Roman Polanski is most famous as a director for truly classic films such as, “The Pianist”, “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Chinatown”.
His name has been all over the news lately, due to his recent arrest for a charge leveled against him thirty years ago. Arrested for raping a thirteen-year-old girl he had been photographing, he pled guilty. He made a deal with the judge and was supposed to be given probation, however the prosecutor at the time reneged on the deal and sought a prison term.
For years he has lived in France as a fugitive. Due to international laws, allowing French citizens immunity from American justice and vice versa, any extradition requests were denied. So he has lived a relatively happy and carefree life since then.
For many, the fact that he his technically a criminal, hasn’t deterred from his greatness as a director. And the fact that he has suffered horrific incidents in his past has made him an empathetic figure. In 1969, the Charles Manson family of cult worshipers murdered his then pregnant wife, Sharon Tate. His mother was a victim of the Holocaust, killed in Auschwitz in World War II. They say that it has been thirty years and that we should let sleeping dogs lie. He has witnessed enough suffering in this life.
For others he is still a child abuser who has escaped paying for his crime for much too long. This camp of people believes that the victim’s rights were abused as the girl maintained that the sex was not consensual. In my view he should be held accountable for his acts as he was a competent adult at the time of the offense and well aware of what he was doing.
So where do we go with this story? What do you think should be done? Should he face a trial or should we all look the other way and move on?
Thanks Hyacinth for covering this story in a some what un-bias way in the beginning. Like a reporter if you will, your stories make people think.
So where does this story go from here? Well most people, including myself would like to see Polanski locked up and punished for his crime. His horrible fates that he has been through in his life and the wonderful works he has completed, have “nothing” to do with what he did to that girl 30 years ago.
I’m so dumbfounded when I see people defending this guy. There is nothing in this world that can justify his actions for doing what he did. Had he served his time. None of us would be talking about this today.
The other thing is, did Polanski go to therapy? This was a serious offense. Was he “so called rehabilitated”? I mean what is to say if he didn’t get the chance to do something like this again, OR did something like this happen already and no one knows about it.
I can’t possibly see how he doesn’t serve time now. Being a betting man I would say somewhere along the lines this creep has still been getting off on kids somewhere.
Just because his vic doesn’t care anymore and all of his achievements in his life and all his lows, doesn’t give him the right to get out of jail for free.
Just another snake in the grass!
I try to remain objective but I agree should be extradited and made to face his accuser.