@hawkeye10,
The determination of guilt or "reasonable" punishment is something that is done by established legal process. Guilt or innocence is determined by a jury and the punishment by the law and, depending on the jurisdiction and specific crimes, in part by the judge and in some cases the jury. In any event it isn't either you or I who do that.
Polanski copped a plea and then fled the country before sentence was laid down by the judge, based on his allegations that the judge might not abide by unstated provisions of the "deal". No judicial process has yet established the facts or their significance with respect to this mattter. The reason for this is that Polanski knowingly fled to countries that, for their own reasons, refused to extradite him - and he has remained in this status for many years now.
The simple fact is that justice in this matter has not yet been done. Those who appeal to the law as the foundation of justice and then support Polanski's escaping extradition are simply contradicting themselves and being deceitful about their real intentions and motives. The original crime in this case was a serious one, and the victim was a minor. The passage of time is indeed a limiting factor for some crimes, statutes of limitations define time limits for the initiation of criminal charges. However, nowhere do these limitations apply to accused criminals who unlawfully flee the reach of justice and thereby prevent its action.
