Movie producer Harvey Weinstein writes in The Independent that "whatever you think about the so-called crime," film director Roman Polanski should not be forcibly returned to the United States to face judgment for his guilty plea to raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Weinstein says a deal had been worked out so that Polanski would be sentenced to "time served," and that the director only fled the country because he feared the judge was going to nix that agreement.

Columnist Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post says give me a break:

During a photo shoot at the Los Angeles home of his friend and Chinatown star Jack Nicholson, Polanski plied a 13-year-old girl with champagne and drugs and had sex with her.

That is grotesque. ...

Before any sentence could be imposed, he absconded like a weasel to live a princely life in France.

Smoking Gun has the court documents from Polanski's trial (fair warning: there are graphic details). Read through and see Polanski admitted to — "I had sexual intercourse with a female person not my wife, under the age of 18" — and the victim's descriptions of what he did after suppling her with champagne and drugs.

We started this poll yesterday. As of noon ET today, 61% said bringing Polanski back to the U.S. from Switzerland, where he was arrested Saturday, would be a waste of time. The other 39% said it would be "justice served." Suggestion: Read through the links above and then vote:

Update at 8 a.m. ET, Sept. 30: As you can see, the additional 300 or so votes added in the past day have turned the results around.