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Roman Polanski arrested

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
Post subject: Re: Roman Polanski arrested
Posted: Wed 30 Sep , 2009 11:40 pm
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While what Polanski admitted to is a horrendous act whether committed against one person or many, his original sentence was light and he fled when he found out the judge was biased (essentially), what kind of justice do we seek by bringing him in? Retribution? Rehabilitation? Vengeance?

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vison
Post subject: Re: Roman Polanski arrested
Posted: Thu 01 Oct , 2009 12:30 am
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TheEllipticalDisillusion wrote:
While what Polanski admitted to is a horrendous act whether committed against one person or many, his original sentence was light and he fled when he found out the judge was biased (essentially), what kind of justice do we seek by bringing him in? Retribution? Rehabilitation? Vengeance?
These are some of the questions I ask. There is no doubt he committed a serious and particularly horrible crime - and there are no mitigating factors. Not the mother abetting him, nor his possible mental state, nothing.

On the other hand, 33 years later it just doesn't sit right. I don't think it's going to be worth the circus that is now going to ensue, the costs of lawyers and flights to Switzerland, and depositions, and all that stuff - it's going to cost the American taxpayer (California taxpayer?) millions of dollars.

Will it serve justice?

What would serve justice? Putting him in jail for the rest of his life? That's about what it would amount to.

I think he fled in panic, not cowardice. And my limited understanding is that he was misled into thinking a guilty plea would do some good - or that the judge reneged on the deal or something.

Either way, isn't it going to mean a new trial now? His defense lawyers will demand that, won't they?

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Nin
Post subject: Re: Roman Polanski arrested
Posted: Thu 01 Oct , 2009 6:47 am
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Lidless wrote:
So much for punishment and the law being a deterrent in the first place...

"I guess you had to use those pills and have anal sex because the 13 year old was just too small for you. Well, it was 30 years ago. Water under the bridge, eh, you wonderful celebrity."

And never mind Vogue and you being there. What if your kid was raped in the park, with or without your 'permission'?
Lidless, tell me where I say he has not comitted a horrible crime? Or where I call Mr. Polanski wonderful? I just say, like TED, that this arrestation does not serve justice and is from the Swiss side simply hypocrit, as they had so many occassions before. If this was about justice, the Swiss would have to have arrested him the first time he put foot in their country. Christ, he owns a house in Switzerland! It's just a farce.

And if my child was raped: if he had forgiven, where is my right to pursue hate?

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
Post subject: Re: Roman Polanski arrested
Posted: Thu 01 Oct , 2009 4:20 pm
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I don't mean to imply that his arrest will serve no justice at all, but I question what kind of justice is being sought. Is the long gap going to erase the sin of the past? Should no one be allowed to get away with a crime regardless of this gap (I mean this for heinous crimes, not petty theft or something)? Is the justice for the contemporary society's feeling good that they have punished this crime finally? Is this justice for the victim of the crime (not all victims everywhere or all future victims)? Is this justice for all victims everywhere or all future victims? Do we consider the man's criminal record in the interim? Has he repeated his offense or has this taught him he is immune to punishment for his actions and has committed other crimes? Is this an opportunity to see a celebrity fall? Judging from the OJ trial (which I followed a bit, though not much since I was 11 or 12) and Michael Jackson trial, these high profile trials run the risk of turning into circus events not justice. Just something to think about.

Just for the record, I agree with his extradition. Where do we go from there?

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Axordil
Post subject: Re: Roman Polanski arrested
Posted: Thu 01 Oct , 2009 6:37 pm
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The justice is in showing the system of justice itself works. Whether one believes his crime against the young woman has been forgiven, expiated, or otherwise dealt with, the fact remains that he thumbed his nose at the system and ran because he could.

If the judge was indeed biased, or the sentence was excessive (in his eyes) he had the right of appeal. Instead he fled, which is an offense against the state, and a slap in the face to everyone who finds themselves in a similar situation and can't just fly to Europe to avoid sentencing.

The point being: if we make no effort to enforce the pivotal idea of equality before the law, what vestiges that remain of it will disappear entirely. Everyone that jumps bail makes it less likely that bail will be granted the next time, to the next accused. That's fundamentally unfair.

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TheEllipticalDisillusion
Post subject: Re: Roman Polanski arrested
Posted: Fri 02 Oct , 2009 4:32 pm
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Kind of a justice for justice sake situation?

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Axordil
Post subject: Re: Roman Polanski arrested
Posted: Fri 02 Oct , 2009 7:39 pm
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Sure--but to a great extent the entire concept of a justice system is based on it being, well, systematic, as opposed to capricious.

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