On Polanski

Even though I have really tried, I can't help but notice all the kerfuffle about Roman Polanksi getting arrested. Normally, an elderly, confessed statutory rapist being arrested would be the cause of media satisfaction and endless articles talking about how justice has finally being done. Instead, Polanski's arrest has caused a whole host of protests from people who really should know better. The Filthy Smoker details some of those protests over at DK's place - and deals with them using his customary forensic, detailed counter-arguments (and sweary insults).

I've little to add, but this is my understanding of Polanski and his crime:

• He confessed to statutory rape
• He fled before he could be sentenced
• Therefore he has never been punished for his crimes
• He has made some popular and acclaimed films* both before and after confessing to statutory rape.

The fact that he committed his crime decades ago doesn't change the fact that he still admitted to it, and has yet to be punished for it. Had he not fled all those years ago, whatever punishment the court was going to give him would have been served long ago and he wouldn't now be facing his punishment as an old man. He chose to flee, and as a result he is suffering for it now. I struggle to feel anymore sympathy for Polanski than I did for Ronnie Biggs - another man who fled justice only to have to pay his debt to society as an old man.

Ultimately, this isn't about the talents of Roman Polanski. It is about justice. If justice is blind, then it should also be able to ignore someone's filmic canon. Polanski's status as an acclaimed film director is magnificently irrelevant; the issue here is his rape of a 13 year old girl. And he should be treated no differently to anyone else who raped a 13 year old girl.

*I've seen remarkably few of them. For what it is worth, I though Rosemary's Baby was pretty good. But not good enough to excuse the director of statutory rape.