Candice Bergen | 10/05/2009 12:00 am

Candice Bergen: An Alternative Punishment for Roman Polanski

In response to: Should Roman Polanski go to prison?

The Roman thing is complicated as we all know. It brings out the dark, avenging side of America, yet it is a crime. It was absolutely a criminal, indecent, amoral act and should be acknowledged and in some way paid for. But he is a brilliant, gifted artist. He is a father. And he is 75. How much time should he serve? And why is he not allowed to be home in Switzerland under house arrest? With his kids? Why in prison? What should not happen is his being made an example of with a harsh sentence. There should be a resolution that factors in his contributions and his age. Prolonged house arrest?

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Why all the venom against Polanski?The girl herself says to forget it. Elizabeth Smart was raped DAILY by her CAPTOR. That is something to get incensed about. Well, there is no prevention of anything anyway, so why sweat it. Humans do not run the world. As far as not learning anything by punishment….killers in jail don’t learn much by having T.V., telephones, books, conjugal visits, weight lifting equipment and three squares a day, either. Medical and dental, too.We do have the best system in the world.

By albert miller on 10/05/2009 2:49 am

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Why all the venom? Because most people have a lick of common sense left, that’s why. "The girl" was traumatized that night, she and Elizabeth Smart will need years of therapy to untangle what was done to them. Of COURSE she wants to forget it. That’s the problem, they will not be able to.

Polanski is a sick prevert that is hiding from public justice. You are right about one thing; prisoners need to stare at 4 walls, period, nothing else. Nothing but time and their own conscience.

By True Grit on 10/06/2009 9:55 am

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He shouldn’t have a harsh sentence? Are you joking? Are you mentally ill?

If anything, his sentence should be the harshest possible of all available to the judge? He admittedly raped a 13 year old *child*, then wimped out on his responsibility to accept his punishment as handed out to him by law.. and *then*, he wimped out on a deal that was pretty sweet for him by all accounts.

Roman is a *COWARD* and should be not be let off the hook just because he is in the movies?

Maybe Candice, you are so lenient in regards to Polanski because you are somehow hoping to be in one of his movies in the future? something that you obviously wouldn’t be able to do if he was in jail?

Or, do you not think that raping a child is a punishable offence by time in jail? Or do you think that running away to another country is an appropriate thing to do when faced with jail time as meted out by a judge and jury?

I can’t believe a supposedly ‘smart & educated’ woman is such a moron?

By tj goldstein on 10/05/2009 2:52 am

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The pervert drugged, raped, sodomized, orally copulated a THIRTEEN year old girl. I have a 13 year old girl so I have current experience of how naive, and unworldly they are. Even and most especially when the 13 year old girl thinks she so mature. The pervert violated this little girl in every way I can imagine. If there are others, I don’t want to know about them. It is not "dark" to want to see this guy face some jail time. Please, a little sanity. I would feel as though I were letting my daughters down if I didn’t show them that they are to be treasure, protected and nurtured. Ms. Bergen, you let all young girls down with your stance. The fact that the pervert is an acclaimed artist makes him no less slimy and disgusting than that creepy guy down the street. Some perspective please.

By Cathy Twogood on 10/05/2009 3:01 am

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Hey Cathy: I agree, I can’t imagine what I would do if my thirteen year old daughter (now 39) was so abused. I get a little sick even thinking about it. Its 2009, and still some posters are "blaming the victim". A grown man should know better, and when they don’t, we have laws to remind them and to protect children. If they break the law they should be punished. The fact that they run away and avoid their punishment until they’re 75 years old should not be an excuse for a lesser or alternative punishment. In fact, they should be further prosecuted for that additional crime.

By Lin Cercone on 10/05/2009 3:44 am

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THANK YOU CATHY TWOGOOD. FINALLY SOMEONE WHO MAKES SENSE!

By Simone St. Cyr on 10/05/2009 3:23 pm

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__________________________

What is it about the internet that brings out the most atrocious sides of human nature? Everyone is forgetting the "frame of mind" of Roman Polanski which in our justice system does have bearing. I doubt a day goes by that he does not remember the phone call he got that Saturday afternoon in London telling him about the murders.

I suspect Candice Bergen remembers as well. Had Charles Manson dispatched his "family" to Cielo Drive a year before Candice Bergen would have been murdered instead of Sharon Tate. It was the first thing that came to mind when Doris Day heard the adress on the radio - that was the house her son and Candice Bergen had been living in.

Like Anjelica Huston said, he was not a bad man. Just an unhappy man. People really need to put all of this in perspective.

By Baby Snooks on 10/05/2009 11:39 am

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No. Frame of mind does not really have bearing. I know of no person who legally is given a hall pass for a crime so disgusting. Should we look into Manson’s past and pro-rate his sentence based on a degree of misery in his earlier life. I stand by my stand that there is nothing "dark" or now "atrocious" about demanding this guy face the music and do some jail time. I repeat, drugged, raped, orally copulated, anally penetrated a thirteen year old. Now that’s atrocious.

By Cathy Twogood on 10/05/2009 12:10 pm

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I hate to be impolite about this but perhaps there is no way to be polite - I would imagine no matter how afraid of him she was, as she claimed to have been, that she nontheless would have screamed out in pain when he pentetraded her anally.

Anjelica Huston was in the living room. She would have heard her scream out in pain. She apparently was not a virgin in every sense of the word. And that is just one of many questions raised about what really happened that day. Questions that obviously were raised by the prosecutors which is why they agreed to the plea agreement. Which, again, the judge agree to as well.

By Baby Snooks on 10/05/2009 12:40 pm

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Was that Baby Snooks or SCHNOOK?

By Lin Cercone on 10/05/2009 1:01 pm

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The reality is that some simply haven’t the capacity to move beyond their need to wave torches and demand they be allowed to burn a witch at the stake.

By Baby Snooks on 10/05/2009 2:40 pm

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You keep saying "burn a witch at the stake"

Roman Polanski is a RAPIST….. not a witch…. he admitted to it…. he should go to jail.

By Roger from Ohio on 10/06/2009 12:51 am

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Perhaps he should have gone to jail. The point is, which everyone overlooks, is that he was not sentenced to jail under the plea agrement that everyone, including the judge, agreed to.

This is no longer about about anything other than what the judge did. Hopefully the Swiss courts will not overlook that matter of "double jeopardy" and refuse the extradition.

By Baby Snooks on 10/06/2009 8:08 am

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Hey Baby Schnook:

The Realty Is: as an opening for a statement is indicative of an intellectually bankrupt, limited or uninformed individual.

By Lin Cercone on 10/06/2009 6:07 pm

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Anjelica Huston was in the living room. She would have heard her scream out in pain. She apparently was not a virgin in every sense of the word. Are you saying that since this 13 year old girl had been raped in the past then it was ok for Roman Polanski to raper her as well?

Why was Anjelica Huston doing sitting in the living room while a 13 year old girl was being raped in the bedroom? waiting her turn? Disgusting.

By Roger from Ohio on 10/06/2009 12:49 am