European cultural figures, political leaders and show-business personalities rose up in Polanski's defense, insisting that the film director be released because his original criminal charge dates from a 1977 incident. They portrayed the determination of Los Angeles judicial authorities to bring him to trial so many years later as vindictive and a stain on U.S. democracy.Someone bring this piece of shit to justice.
Sarkozy's office made no comment but the spokesman for his governing coalition, Frederic Lefevre, said it was "shocking" to think how Los Angeles authorities seem to have waited so long before putting the international mandate in motion and then moving to make the arrest in such a "spectacular" way. Lefevre's deputy, Dominique Paille, added that it was also shocking to see a country regarded as an example of democracy fail to observe a statute of limitations for such crimes. *
* Just to clarify, there is not statue of limitation for a class-X felony, and raping a child is a class-X felonoy.
