Fugitive film director Roman Polanski is in a Swiss jail after 31 years on the run for raping a 13-year old California girl.
Reuters news service reports that "France's political elite" is rushing
to his defense, with French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterand
complaining about "a new ordeal being inflicted" on Polanski.
Back in the U.S., Polanski's defenders are pointing to recent
statements by his victim, Samantha Geimer, now 45. Geimer says she has
forgiven Polanski and wants prosecutors to drop charges (Polanski pled
guilty in 1978 and was convicted, before fleeing the U.S. prior to his
sentencing.)
Unfortunately for Polanski and his friends, victims don't decide
whether and when to criminally prosecute in the American justice
system. Prosecutors do. In Polanski's case, that means Los Angeles
County prosecutor Steve Cooley.
If Geimer's words today don't sway Cooley, it might be because he's listening to her words 31 years ago.
And before critics criticize Cooley's decision, they might want to listen to those words from 1977 too.
The National Association to Protect Children is a national, pro-child, anti-crime membership association. We are founded on the belief that our first and most sacred obligation as parents, citizens, and members of the human species is the protection of children from harm.
PROTECT is a bipartisan pro-child, anti-crime lobby whose sole focus is making the protection of children a top political and policy priority at the national, state and local level.
