Roman Polanski

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

So better to go and deal out justice oneself - re Polanski, off with his wotsit.

Are you by chance channeling Dee Dee?

[Aggie]

I'm all for him standing trial, but on the wider issue I think plea-bargaining is fundamentally immoral. 

If you have evidence for something you should prosecute for that thing, not intimidate somebody with the possibility that a jury will believe something worse, or with bankruptcy by legal costs.

I don't mind plea-bargains where it catches bigger fish than the one negotiating the plea-bargain (i.e organized crime), but not in cases like this - makes no sense whatsoever.  Speaking of plea bargains and extraditions, Marc Emery recently had the honour to get himself locked up on a plea-bargain to keep a couple of his partners more or less free and clear of the law (suppose that's why they call him the Prince).  Mind you, if he had lost a proper trial the sentence could have been much higher. 

[Griffin NoName]

So better to go and deal out justice oneself - re Polanski, off with his wotsit.

Are you by chance channeling Dee Dee?

I wish!

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

The incident is more than 30 years old and the victim would love to skip the attention. I don't condone in any way Mr. Polansky's actions but I have the feeling that the whole thing is a bit out of proportion all around. Now the extradition case will drag for months and the victim has become the victim (of the media attention, reliving the incident, etc) again.

But the same could be said of any cold case involving rape.

Should there be an "expiry date" for violent crimes, where if we haven't put someone in prison already, the matter gets dropped out of regard for the victims?

He's a convicted rapist who deliberately evaded capture for decards.  He shouldn't benefit from his own illegal actions; he should be sent to prison to serve his sentence.

There should be a way to solve this things in a better way. Besides, how is it that for 30 years the guy has come and gone from Switzerland and now he gets arrested? I wonder what changed.

His movements got a lot more attention across the board after he put out a public statement in 2004 or 2005 (IIRC) when he said he wouldn't be going to the UK to accept an award because of their extradition treaty with the US and his outstanding conviction.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

He hadn't gone to Switzerland since 2005 (the year the California prosecutor place the request)? To be honest, I only know that he had a villa in Switzerland.

Reading here and there the prosecutor knew he was going to Switzerland to receive the award and notified the Swiss.

[Griffin NoName]

It's odd in some ways that this has been viewed as contentious in any way, when one considers the outrage people have over paedophiles (who have done their time and are on probabtion) living anywhere near them. I don't see any of those people saying Oh it's Ok because the guy paints nice pictures or whatever.

It's incredible how inconsistent people can be.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

He hadn't gone to Switzerland since 2005 (the year the California prosecutor place the request)? To be honest, I only know that he had a villa in Switzerland.

Reading here and there the prosecutor knew he was going to Switzerland to receive the award and notified the Swiss.

I don't know.  It could be that it wasn't enough of a priority for the Swiss police to watch his villa for months on end until he arrived, but if they knew he was going to be in a particular place at a particular time and were pressured to get him by the Americans, that was enough to make them pick him up.

[Swatopluk]

Eh, Switzerland is not part of the EU, so on entering by any legal means his passport would have been controlled, so the authorities would have known he was entering. And it's not that he is that unknown that the name would not ring a bell, even if the computer doesn't.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Ironically Switzerland just entered the Schengen treaty so no need of passport if you come from other member state if I understand correctly.