art does not excuse rape

[rm]

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/art-does-not-excuse-rape-polanski-must-face-justice

Comments

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

To partially answer the "why now?" question:

A request was made to Interpol several years ago for assistance in apprehending Polanski. The State Department gave a statement on Monday (I think) that outlined their attempts over the years and some near misses.

In December 2008, Polanski attempted to have the case/plea/sentence dropped from the record. http://www.doublex.com/section/news-politics/roman-polanskis-arrest-his-own-fault?page=0,1
And for a while, it seemed as if Polanksi’s strategy might work. Earlier this year, a new judge was willing to consider dismissing the case against him. But first, he wanted Polanski to show up in court. Polanski, however, would not appear.

This is Polanski’s biggest problem: The judge’s terms were reasonable. He gave Polanski three months to surface in L.A. and even hinted that the director would probably not serve jail time if he appeared. And yet Polanski refused. From the point of view of prosecutors, Polanski practically dared them to act.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Thanks for the link. A film crit friend, meanwhile, has sent me this. As my friend put it, 'It will be too strange for words if it turns out that Polanski's lawyers rubbed authorities the wrong way by making assertions based on info from the doc that was, uh, made up.' She also points out the anti-Semitic comments, and I've seen others elsewhere - yet another disturbing undercurrent to this case.