Apparently, people who think he shouldn't be extradited either believe 1) talented (or rich, or famous) people need not follow the law, 2) people who avoid arrest for long enough should be rewarded for being wily or 3) rape is okay? It's hard to believe anyone is willing to take one of these positions, but they do.
2 comments:
What about the victim calling for the case to be thrown out?
Certainly the victim's desires are relevant in some cases, such as where the victim will have to testify, to a degree re-living the offense at trial. Here, though, a plea bargain was reached 30 years ago, and the only thing remaining when Polanski left the country was sentencing, so I don't think the victim is not going to have to testify again.
Also, society has a strong interest in punishing criminals to deter future crime. A victim's desire to put an incident behind her is understandably, but not necessarily in the interest of society as a whole, including other potential future victims.
Also, there are all sorts of pressures on victims that may shape their opinion as to what should happen that are inappropriate. Like, many sex crimes against children are committed by family members, and the family frequently do not want a relative to go to jail. The family obviously has a lot of influence over what the child wants.
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