They’ve arrested Roman Polanski?

Not to excuse what he did, but…the guy is 76, has been a refugee for 31 years, and got a raw deal from the legal system.

Polanski pleaded guilty to “unlawful sexual intercourse”; probation was the recommendation. But the judge began to maneuver behind the scenes: he wanted to look tough for the press, though not necessarily send Polanski to prison. He asked a reporter for advice on what sentence he should give; he gave regular interviews to a Hollywood gossip columnist. The day before the sentencing—despite an agreement with Dalton and Gunson—Ritterband was overheard bragging at his country club that he was going to lock up Polanski for the rest of his life. The next day Polanski was gone, his Mercedes abandoned at the Los Angeles airport. Even the prosecutor now says, “I’m not surprised he left under those circumstances.

Surely there’s a better solution to this than arresting a 76-year-old?

It’s hard not to think that Polanski, a Holocaust survivor whose wife was stabbed to death while pregnant—the killer just died in prison—has been through enough.