Roman Polanski, who pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl three decades ago, has decided to speak in his own defense. In a screed posted on a sympathetic website, the director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby," now under house arrest in Switzerland, offers an array of assertions: He was treated unfairly by the California courts; he has the right to be sentenced without returning to this country; the United States wants to serve him "on a platter to the media"; and the prosecutor who is seeking his extradition is running for higher office and "needs media publicity."
Polanski's statement is punctuated by the refrain "I can remain silent no longer!" But he hasn't served his cause by opening his mouth. Most of his complaints are easily dismissed, including his gibe at L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who is running for state attorney general, and his suggestion that prosecutors should defer to the wishes of Samantha Geimer, his victim, that the case not be pursued further. As we have observed before, the case against Polanski was brought not to satisfy Geimer's desire for justice but to prosecute an offense against the laws of California.
