Roamin' Polanski
The creep is free. Ed Morrissey:
Switzerland just didn’t want to turn Polanski over to the US for fear of falling out of favor with the entertainment industry, and the EuroLeft that adores the child rapist Polanski. When they couldn’t come up with a good reason, they had to claim that the lack of a good reason was reason enough to reject the request.
Via Ann Althouse, here's the official explanation, reported by the New York Times:
[Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf] said the American authorities had rejected a request by her ministry for records of a hearing by the prosecutor in the case, Roger Gunson, in January 2010 which should have established whether the judge who tried the case in 1977 had assured Mr. Polanski that time he spent in a psychiatric unit would constitute the whole of the period of imprisonment he would serve.
“If this were the case, Roman Polanski would actually have already served his sentence and therefore both the proceedings on which the U.S. extradition request is founded and the request itself would have no foundation,” the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement.
So Polanski is free today because of a height-of-the-'70s ruling that therapeutic healing counts for time served? Poetic injustice.
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Jun '10
Re: Roamin' Polanski
Who would've predicted, being an Oscar-winning film director is a better character reference than being a Catholic priest? If Polanski was a Catholic priest, not an artist, it would've taken them about five minutes to decide to turn him over. How things change.
Jun '10
Re: Roamin' Polanski
I didn't know that it was up to the Swiss courts to determine the Polanski case. I would have thought that the fact of Polanski's guilt having been accepted and his running from his imprisonment being obvious, that the only issue for the Swiss is whether they cooperate with the U.S. State and Justice Departments in extradition proceedings. If we had a Justice Department, that actually cared about justice for ALL U.S. citizens, and not just minorities and terrorists, they might have pressed the Swiss with a bit more ferver. Unfortunately what we have is the Department of Grievance and Political Correctness...not Justice.
Jul '10
Re: Roamin' Polanski
If the Swiss could be neutral in WWII they are a people able to turn a blind eye to a good deal of evil. And if there is a profit in it, so much the better. As someone observed, their contribution to Western civilization begins and ends with the coo-coo clock.
May '10
Re: Roamin' Polanski
Hey what about Ricola? And yodeling?
May '10
Re: Roamin' Polanski
Isn't this the second time, we've been rolled by the Swiss in the last 12 months?
But just to be wholly cynical about this for a moment... I don't understand why the Obama administration doesn't run with this issue. Why not denounce this decision to the high heavens and proclaim yourself against separate standards of justice for the rich and privileged. Are they worried they're going to lose Hollywood's support?! Damage relations with the Swiss?! Being against this scummy guy whose movies most Americans either haven't seen or don't remember seems like a no brainer to me. Not to mention that it's also the right thing to do.
May '10
Re: Roamin' Polanski
Isn't this the second time, we've been rolled by the Swiss in the last 12 months?
But just to be wholly cynical about this for a moment... I don't understand why the Obama administration doesn't run with this issue. Why not denounce this decision to the high heavens and proclaim yourself against separate standards of justice for the rich and privileged. Are they worried they're going to lose Hollywood's support?! Damage relations with the Swiss?! Being against this scummy guy whose movies most Americans either haven't seen or don't remember seems like a no brainer to me. Not to mention that it's also the right thing to do.
Re: Roamin' Polanski
Forget him, Jake. It's Eurotown.
Jul '10
Re: Roamin' Polanski
Swarthy Swiss.
It's only been 32 years and 6 US Presidents...
Oh, the international arrest warrant has only been valid since 2005. These things take time, I guess.
"So Polanski is free today because of a height-of-the-'70s ruling that therapeutic healing counts for time served?"
Nope, he's free because of an Euro-centric interpretation of "a height-of-the-'70s ruling".
Which why we need the open minded Elena Kagan who favors the use of international law in American jurisprudence. So we can avoid any future imbroglios.
Kagen: Now, More Than Ever!