There is a subtle spin in this AP article about Roman Polanski.
PARIS – Filmmaker Roman Polanski has broken his months-long silence to lay out his case for why he should not be extradited from Switzerland to the U.S.
In a post on a friend’s Web site, Polanski says he is not asking for pity but only asks “to be treated fairly like anyone else.”
“I can now remain silent no longer,” he writes. Polanski argues that the case for his extradition is unjust and full of discrepancies. His text appeared Sunday on the Web site of French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy.
The Oscar-winning director of “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Chinatown” and “The Pianist” is under house arrest at his Swiss Alpine chalet.
Swiss authorities are trying to decide whether to extradite Polanski to Los Angeles for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.
The spin is that it was sex with a 13 year old girl.
He didn’t just have sex with her. He drugged her with Quaaludes and raped her.
The girl’s family wanted to spare her a trial so a deal for a prison term was struck by prosecutors with Roman Polanski. He fled the country rather than face going to jail. He thought he was going to get off with a short jail sentence of around 90 days. When it became clear that he might go to jail longer, he fled the country. The only thing unjust about the Polanski case is how he has so far gamed to they system to avoid punishment for his crimes.
Switzerland is trying to decide if they should honor the extradition treaty they have with the United States.
I hate spin.