Isn't it ironic?

Just two days after Sharon Tate’s murderer died and left the prison system, her former husband is put behind bars. On Saturday, Sept. 26, Polish-French filmmaker Roman Polanski was arrested on a 31-year-old warrant at Zurich Airport. He was en route to Switzerland’s Zurich Film Festival to receive the “Golden Eye” Award.

Roman Polanski

Back in 1977, the world-renowned movie director pleaded guilty to one charge of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, according to a cnn.com article. He wielded a 13-year-old girl into various sex acts with alcohol and sedative drugs when he was 43-years-old. Polanski fled the United States before he could be sentenced, and U.S. authorities have had an outstanding warrant for his arrest since 1978. Polanski went to France and then to Poland, (he has dual citizenship in both places) and the U.S. has wanted to extradite him for years. But, a previous political asylum agreement has allowed French and Polish authorities to deny the request, and thus Polanski has remained a free man.

Overwhelmed yet? Yea, it’s a sticky mess. When the U.S. got wind that Polanski would be traveling to a country where he is not granted asylum, they saw their chance and requested that Swiss police arrest him. Now, Polanski is being kept in an undisclosed Switzerland prison, fighting his deportation back to the U.S. According to this “Los Angeles Times” article, he faces months behind bars, given the lengthy legal processes ahead: “The U.S. has 40 days from the arrest to lodge a formal extradition request, a period that can be extended to 60 days if necessary. The Swiss Justice Ministry then has a week or two to examine the request. If authorities accept the request, Polanski can file a formal appeal in federal court, which would take another few weeks.”

Polanski’s arrest has sparked heated debate in the U.S. and Europe. Fellow filmmakers worldwide and French and Polish ministries have continually shown their support for his release, highlighting his career achievements. Others feel that the case is irrelevant and should be dismissed because it is decades old. On the other end, however, many are appalled at this prospect of social status trumping law. Interestingly, Polanski’s victim, now 45-year-old Samantha Geimer, is among those arguing that the case be tossed.

According to cnn.com, Geimer says that she is no longer a 13-year-old girl, has moved on with her life, and would like the incident to finally be put to rest: “Every time this case is brought to the attention of the Court, great focus is made of me, my family, my mother and others. That attention is not pleasant to experience and is not worth maintaining over some irrelevant legal nicety, the continuation of the case.” Geimer sued Polanski years ago and received a settlement, so at this point he is no longer under fire for rape, just for fleeing the country.

I’m not sure where I stand with this one. I feel that a crime is a crime, regardless of an individual’s worldly prominence, and for that reason the U.S. should continue the battle to have Polanski deported. An Academy Award should not downplay his legal offenses. However, taking into account Geimer’s desire not to reopen old wounds, we need to be careful how we talk about this situation. The victim has dropped charges, and so she should not be weighted down by the extradition case. But, obviously she will be involved by default because she is the reason Polanski fled the U.S. in the first place. I hope that both the government and the public respect that the charges against Polanski have changed, and that the count of unlawful sexual intercourse has already been dealt with. Extradition would bring legal justice, but if it is at the expense of a victim’s well-being…I just don’t know…!!! What do you all think?

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