Last week, newspapers were abuzz over the arrest of famed film director Roman Polanski.
Polanski was on his way to the Zurich Film Festival when he was detained by Swiss police acting in concert with American authorities.
More than 30 years ago, Polanski fled the United States after being convicted of a sex crime against a 13-year-old girl named Samantha Gailey (now Samantha Geimer). At the time, Geimer accused Polanski of drugging and raping her. Under the terms of his plea bargain, Polanski was convicted of unlawful sex with a minor. Before his sentencing, he left the country. He’s lived abroad ever since.
A number of people have protested his recent arrest. Filmmakers in Poland, France, and Germany have registered their disapproval. Bernard Henri Levy, a popular French intellectual, described Polanski as having committed a “youthful error.” Whoopi Goldberg said that what Polanski did was somehow different from “rape, rape.”
The Polanski case does raise several important issues. For one thing, Polanski has not been convicted of a crime for over three decades. Several commentators have argued that, even if this doesn’t absolve him of guilt, it might suggest he doesn’t belong behind bars.
The nature of the arrest also seems somewhat arbitrary. Although authorities in Los Angeles say they’ve made a number of attempts to have Polanski nabbed, it’s hard to believe that this is the first time they’ve had an opportunity. Polanski has not made much of a secret of his comings and goings, although he has been careful to avoid certain countries with particularly close ties to the United States. Why, after three decades, did the police finally choose to grab him?
Most importantly, Geimer has publicly said that she’s forgiven Polanski and doesn’t want him behind bars. Although criminal charges can be brought regardless of the victim’s wishes, Geimer’s statement speaks to how long ago the crime was committed.
But none of those things change the fact that Polanski assaulted a young girl. No matter what Whoopi Goldberg wants to call it, no matter how much Bernard Henri Levy wants to sugarcoat it, Polanski committed a very serious crime. He should have dealt with the legal consequences decades ago. Instead, he fled the country.
Polanski should be extradited to the United States and made to face justice. If, as he and his supporters maintain, there are extenuating circumstances in the case, he should stand before a judge and make that argument in a court of law. He’s been protesting the charges safely from across an ocean; it’s time he did it in court.
One of the ways this country has most distinguished itself from so many others has been its belief, from its very inception, in a fair legal system. Although it’s made some mistakes along the way, it has done a remarkable job-a job unparalleled in human history-of giving defendants in its legal system extraordinary authority to challenge their detention.
But none of that means anything if convicts, after receiving a fair and open trial, make a mockery of the judicial process and leave the country. Defendants must work through the system to establish their innocence, not run from justice.
Polanski has for too long flouted the law. It’s time he took responsibility for his actions. It’s time he answered for his crime.
Nathaniel French is a junior theater studies major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
