Polanski Denied Prison Release

(AP)  Roman Polanski lost his first bid to win his freedom Tuesday as the Swiss Justice Ministry rejected an appeal by the 76-year-old to be immediately released from prison, an official said.

"We continue to be of the opinion that there is a high risk of flight," said ministry spokesman Folco Galli, explaining the decision.

Galli told The Associated Press that the risk was too great for the government to accept bail or other security measures in exchange for the release of the filmmaker who is wanted by U.S. authorities for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

Polanski was apprehended Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive an award from a film festival. Authorities in Los Angeles consider him a convicted felon and a fugitive, and Switzerland says there has been an international warrant out on him since 2005.

His legal representatives are also asking Switzerland's highest criminal court to free Polanski. Galli said the Justice Ministry has submitted a letter to the tribunal explaining why it opposes release even on bail.

Two former Zurich prosecutors have said Polanski stands a minimal chance of an immediate release.

Dieter Jann said extradition would be hard to fight, and he thought Switzerland had followed procedures correctly. Peter Cosandey added that Polanski was unlikely to be released because he is not a permanent resident and had already jumped bail years ago in the United States.

Polanski was accused of plying the underage girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977, and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation.

However, he was released after 42 days by an evaluator who deemed him mentally sound and unlikely to offend again.

The judge responded by saying he was going to send Polanski back to jail for the remainder of the 90 days and that afterward he would ask Polanski to agree to a "voluntary deportation." Polanski then fled the country, on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was scheduled to be sentenced to the additional time.

Galli confirmed that Washington has yet to file a formal request seeking extradition. But he said the U.S. probably wouldn't need its entire 60-day period to submit all documents.

"I assume this is a priority case in the United States," Galli said.

Regardless of the court decision, Polanski will likely have to remain in prison for months as his case in the Swiss courts progresses. The Federal Criminal Court has said it will rule in the case in the "next weeks," and a verdict in either direction can be appealed to the country's highest judicial body, the Federal Tribunal.

Galli said the director of "Chinatown," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Pianist" would remain in prison for the duration of this process.

Polanski has received backing from directors and film stars in Hollywood and Europe, and from government officials in France and Poland, where he holds citizenship. But some of that support has waned since the original shock of his arrest, with leading French and Polish officials urging a more restrained reaction considering the crime.

In Switzerland, debate has raged among parliamentarians and cultural figures over the neutral country's role in arresting Polanski as he came to attend a government-backed festival. Few, however, have challenged the legality of his imprisonment and likely extradition.

Former Justice Minister Christoph Blocher said last week the director should have been warned - an assertion rejected by legal experts - but added that the case against Polanski now was quite simple and that he "must be extradited."

Polanski and the victim, Samantha Geimer, reached a $500,000 settlement in October 1993, according to documents recently released in Los Angeles.

Geimer, who long ago identified herself, sued Polanski in December 1988 when she was 25 years old, alleging sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and seduction. She has since joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal and has forgiven him.

[toldyouso21]

Polanski was accused of plying the underage girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977, and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation."

By breaching the plea agreement, Polanski is now back to the original 6 charges including child molestation and sodomy--add to that now, lying to the court, check deception and fleeing and the maximum sentence for each one--for fleeing alone, Polanski is no longer eligible for probation and will serve time.

[cbsblogger]

At some point Polanski must face the US charges of forcible rape on a 13 year old girl, even if he is rich and even if he has lots of rich and powerful Hollywood peers who are probably just about as ethical as he is.

[pixienvegas]

Okay, here is my 2 (or 10) cents regarding the criminal Roman Polanski.

Bullet Point 1: Just because the majority of your family was killed in the Holocaust, it does NOT mean that you are given the right to sodomize and rape a 13 year old.

Bullet Point 2: Just because your pregnant wife was horrifically murdered, it does NOT mean that you are given the right to sodomize and rape a 13 year old.

Bullet Point 3: Just because you are an "artist", it does not give you the right to sodomize and rape a 13 year old girl.

To all the apologists that state:

Bullet Point 4: "Oh it happened 30 years ago...", does that mean we should stop hunting down Nazi's because that happened over 50 years ago? Absolutely Not.

Bullet Point 5: "He's suffered enough." I call ******** AND A HALF!!! If suffering means still being able to continue your lively hood and living the life of luxury, where the **** can I sign up for that?

Bullet Point 6: "The judge was going to renege on the plea so he is a corrupt judge..." In case people are not familiar with how plea deals work, that is the Defense and the Prosecutor who make the deal. The judge is not obligated in any way shape or form to accept the deal.

Bullet Point 7: "He served 42 days". He did not serve any time. He was undergoing a 90 psychiatric evaluation to determine his mental state BEFORE the sentencing hearing was to commence.

Bullet Point 8: "The victim has forgiven him, why can't you?" First of all, the case that he is being extradited for was and is a criminal case, not a civil. There is a reason why it is "People v. Roman Polanski. Criminal and civil cases are not mutually exclusive. That is why (example) OJ got off for murder in a criminal court and was reamed in a civil court lawsuit.

Bullet Point 8.5: The victim did indeed initiate a civil lawsuit in 1993 against Polanski, and he settled it for $500k. Which by the way as of August of 1996, he STILL owed her the money plus interest.

If any victim were allowed to just "forgive" their aggressor, how many victims would be intimidated or threatened into "forgiving" them?

If bad **** happening in the childhood was a reasonable defense, the jails would be empty and tons of criminals wouldn't have gotten what they deserved (sometimes less)

Bottom line is I can appreciate what Polanski has brought to the world through his artistic side but he still is a piece of **** for thinking that raping and sodomizing a child is acceptable.

[SusanStoHelit]

Quite the obvious decision - he's a flight risk.

However - many other 'facts' in here are wrong. There was nothing in the plea bargain that said the evaluation would be the only penalty. The evaluation was simply an evaluation, and Polanski, in open court, agreed that he knew the sentence after that could be anything from probation to 12 years, that the judge would not make that decision until all reports came in, that the judge was not promising anything. There was no "40 more days will do it" - nothing like that.

[Ace22257]

Henry_Bowman.....you are right on the money there bud!!! I agreed with everything but one...why wrap that wire around just his gonads? Why stop there? The meat and the taters should be a package deal dontcha think?

[henry_bowman]

no..let him suffer before the wire cuts through his genitals. Then let him bleed out. It should be a slow painful death.

[zamorin44]

We have hunted for Osama bin Laden and bagged Roman Polanski instead.Talk of the irony of life.

[willow013]

Hey! At least there is something to show for the hunt.....

[SusanStoHelit]

We've been after Polanski for 30 years - they've tried many times. Hope it takes less time for Osama - but we're looking much harder for him.

[bradkt1]

He fled before...of course he is a flight risk.

Now send him back to the U.S. so we can put this child molester in jail where he belongs.

[willow013]

Polanski is a pervert!!!!! He needs to go to prison!!!! Whether or not his victim wants to prosecute him is irrelevant......He needs to be procecuted for his indecent perverted behavior so that justice can be served!!!! People like that should be ground up into chum and served to the sharks in the ocean....That's all they are good for.....But then, the sharks would probably vomit if they were fed that vile excuse for a human being!!!!!!

[toldyouso21]

Whether the original victim of this crime forgives the perp or is paid off is NOT the point. We do not imprison people for individual's rights, safety or wishes, we imprison them for the safety and validation of a society, its rules and its laws. This man admitted to the crime of intentionally having sex with an underage child and for using drugs as a tool to do so.. He later stated the child was not an innocent, what he never denied was that HE intentionally had sex with a person under the age of consent and that he used drugs during the process.

At issue then are these facts:
1. Polanski committed an act of pedophilia
2. Illegal drugs was used in the commission of a crime
3. No man is above the law
4. If not punished correctly, the potential for this person to repeat such acts would be great (why not?)

This man should have been given at least 10 years for the rape, 10 for the giving of drugs, 5 for the act of pedophilia, 5 more for the sodomy. The fact that he is famous and made movies means NOTHING. If justice is to be dispensed by virtue of who a person is and not by what they have done as a crime, then all men are not created equal and we may as well go back to a feudal system where those of royalty can do no wrong and only the serfs get punished. There should also be a penalty for fleeing justice. Polanski should spend the rest of his life in prison now, and from there he can still make films for all those so interested in his career. There are lots of great movies set in Prison.. The Green mile, Shawshank Redemption, Man from Alcatraz, Cool Hand Luke--all come to mind, maybe..from such an environment and the realizations that his actions got him there, Polanski can pull out the SEMINAL work of his career--pun...most definitely INTENDED.

[anitaymoore]

While I think that spending money on this at this point is a huge waste of taxpayer money...I'm not sorry to see him finally face the law. The truth is he did break the law, not only by doing what he did with the girl 30 years ago...but by fleeing the country as well. I think it's a huge waste of taxpayer money at this point to continue to prosecute him for something 30 years ago when the victim herself doesn't want him prosecuted...I do think she should have a say in it, wrong as his actions were. However, I also believe that he should face the law for fleeing in the first place...one way or another he's going to have consequences for his actions.

[Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-01]

Here's a solution. Conduct the sentencing hearing via video conference (on Polanski's dime). Let him serve his sentence in Switzerland (again on Polanski's dime). After he serves his sentence, let him go back to France and immediately make him a fugitive again by charging him with fleeing and eluding. Let him remain a pariah.