After reading about the case, I realized it is much more complicated than I originally thought. Apparently the judge reneged on a plea bargain and there was some other judicial misconduct. But the big thing for me is that it brings up this woman’s name all over again in the papers, and I’m sure it is not easy for her and her family now. But in the end, Polanski raped a 13 year old girl (and I don’t buy the bull that he didn’t know she was 13), and he fled. Whether there was judicial misconduct or not, he fled. It doesn’t matter how many films he made, how many Oscars he won, or what happened to him in Poland, or what happened to his wife, or what plea bargains were made and broken — he committed a serious crime and he fled. Instead of the “outrage” that the French government is proclaiming, perhaps the outrage should be directed to France for having shielded him for so long.
If it is true that he just “panicked” and fled, and that there was judicial misconduct — and if he is truly repentant like he says he is — then he could have faced up to his crime and gone back to be held accountable for his actions. So while I do sympathize with the woman and her plea for him to be released, there is also a greater principle here — that no one is above the law, and that people who commit serious crimes — particularly crimes like his that do traumatic and lasting damage to someone — need to be held accountable.
But unfortunately, I rather doubt he will… hope I’m proven wrong, though.
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