Religion & American Law

Is There a Place for Forgiveness ?: The Polanski Case

Many of us are now probably familiar with the Roman Polanski rape case. In 1977 Polanski was convicted of having “unlawful sex with a minor.” Reading through the transcripts of the victim, 13 year-old Samantha Geimer, one learns that Polanski gave the girl a quaalude and champagne before engaging in sexual intercourse with her. According to her testimony, she repeatedly told him “no” and resisted his sexual advances. After a lengthy trial, which ended with much still up in the air, Polanski fled to Europe. He has been living there for over 30 years (For a nice summary see here)

So what makes this case interesting for those interested in Religion and American Law? In 1997, Geimer publicly “forgave” Polanski. For one interested in the intersection of religion and law, the case raises the important question: Does forgiveness, a nominally Christian concept and virtue, have a place in the American law system? Many people’s immediate reaction is probably to say no. And this most likely reflects a general understanding of how crime is dealt with in the U.S. legal system (This is specifically talked about here). Our law centers, in general, around a retributive form of justice, one in which criminals have to “pay” for their crime with their time, labor, or life. Forgiveness flies in the face of this form of justice. Even if forgiveness occurs, some might claim, it cannot stand in place of punishment

Public reaction to Polanski has been mixed to say the least. Many celebrities have stood up for him. During the 2003 Oscars, for example, he received a standing ovation from the audience when he won for Best Director for his film The Pianist. Some feminist thinkers have reacted strongly as well (Check out the reaction at feministing). Many of the proponents of his arrest claim that he has been able to evade facing his crimes because of his celebrity status. If we do not seek to punish him to the fullest extent of the law then we are, as a society, authorizing his crime. They argue that it begins to look like rape is permissible as long as you can make a good movie. How can we as a society allow this?

In a more sympathetic portrayal of Polanski’s life, the film Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired describes Polanski’s struggle for survival after his mother as killed in the holocaust and the Manson family murdered his wife. This story might lead one to think that while Polanski committed a terrible crime, it is reasonable to feel sympathy for him.

To make matters more interesting, Samantha Geimer has fought to have the case dropped since Polanski’s recent rearrest in Switzerland. It appears she has moved on since forgiving Polanski back in 1994 and wants everyone else to as well. Perhaps her forgiveness is not “pure,” in the sense that she has extended a sympathetic embrace to him, but I think most would be hard pressed to find a pure form of forgiveness. In either case, Geimer's attempt to have the charges dropped might make us reconsider whether forgiveness should have a place in the law. If both the victim and the perpetrator are ready to move on, why should the law stand in their way?

The point of this short blog is not to advocate releasing Polanski’s case being dropped, nor to advocate punishing him to the fullest extent of the law. Instead, it is to point to the ambiguity that a victims forgiveness brings into the law, and to have shown how it might not always be clear whether punishment or forgiveness is the best route to take. Further, this case also raises the issue of whether forgiveness permissible in the legal arena. Is it a purely “religious” concept? And what role do nominally Christian or religious concepts play in society more generally?

About : Raja CRN

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