The deal he had reached, while legal, was still not a done deal until approved by the judge. Judges usually accept plea agreements, but in the U.S. legal system, they don't have to.
Polanski's decision to flee the country when he realized the judge wasn't going to accept the deal was flight from justice, pure and simple. Was the judge corrupt? Possibly, but I don't think believing the judge is out to get you excuses fleeing from justice any more than being arrested by a corrupt cop means the arrest is automatically invalid.
He certainly had the money and influence to fight a tainted conviction (and many legal authorities believe that if he's returned to the U.S. now, he may well get the conviction overturned).
And, again, even if Switzerland is evil and hypocritical, it still sounds as if you're suggesting that Polanski should get off because you hate the Swiss. If he'd been arrested in England or Italy or somewhere else, would it would be okay to extradite him? I do not understand why the alleged sins of the Swiss mitigate Polanski's own.
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Date: 2009-09-30 09:26 pm (UTC)Polanski's decision to flee the country when he realized the judge wasn't going to accept the deal was flight from justice, pure and simple. Was the judge corrupt? Possibly, but I don't think believing the judge is out to get you excuses fleeing from justice any more than being arrested by a corrupt cop means the arrest is automatically invalid.
He certainly had the money and influence to fight a tainted conviction (and many legal authorities believe that if he's returned to the U.S. now, he may well get the conviction overturned).
And, again, even if Switzerland is evil and hypocritical, it still sounds as if you're suggesting that Polanski should get off because you hate the Swiss. If he'd been arrested in England or Italy or somewhere else, would it would be okay to extradite him? I do not understand why the alleged sins of the Swiss mitigate Polanski's own.