Roman's holiday

Men who turn children into sexual prey need to be punished, severely. Instead, film director Roman Polanski served a paltry 42 days in jail 32 years ago and, now, several months of house arrest – confined to his multi-million dollar Alpine chalet in Switzerland, poor fellow.

But while the Swiss Justice Ministry’s decision to set him free this week was galling (it referenced the fact Polanski’s victim has now asked for his release, which is entirely irrelevant), the original sentence of 90 days by a California court 32 years ago was equally galling. Giving a 13-year-old alcohol and part of a Quaalude and then raping her deserves a much stronger punishment.
But Polanski couldn’t even stick around to serve 90 days. Now his French attorney talks about the “pain suffered by Roman Polanski” for being stuck in his chalet. (Read a good Eugene Robinson column on it here.) (Read a Washington Post editorial on it here.)
Give me a break. A nation that honors the rule of law should not allow people to flee justice, regardless of their celebrity status. I like Eugene Robinson’s suggestion to boycott Polanski’s films.