Second Chance for Roman Polanski?

Everybody deserves a second chance, even Michael Vick. But Vick pled guilty, was sentenced, served his prison term, and now has earned his second chance.

Polanski has a way to go. He pled guilty in 1977, when he was in his 40s. to drugging, raping, and sodomizing a 13-yr old girl. Then he fled the country before sentencing, claiming that the judge was going to throw out his plea bargain.

Sorry, no sympathy here. He took the law into his own hands by fleeing the country. He needs to face the U.S. judicial system to earn his second chance. “Gifted artist” doesn’t earn him a pass for his crime. Nor does getting away with it for 32 years.

The Redemption of Ted Kennedy

Act I: Kicked out of Harvard for cheating.

Act II: Cheated repeatedly and very publicly on his wife, who decayed into alcoholism before she left him.

Act III: His reckless (or probably drunken) driving led to the death of his pretty young woman passenger, who drowned probably because he cravenly waited eight hours to report the accident.

Act IV: Greatest Senator, maybe ever. Revered by politicians of both parties. Terrific husband, father, brother, uncle, family patriarch. Sensitive consoler of those stricken by grief. Master legislator who changed the lives of millions.

Epilog: Think of Ted Kennedy when you’re deciding whether somebody deserves a second chance. Or even a third one.

An Ethical Fan of Michael Vick's?`

Michael Vick was the top college football player in the US in 2000, and a pro bowler for several years with the Atlanta Falcons. In 2007 he pled guilty to federal charges of felony dogfighting and cruelty, and went to prison for 23 months. Yesterday he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

So can an ethical fan root for Vick? It's uncomfortable, but any student of ethics knows that nobody behaves ethically all the time: the ethical life is one of learning and working to close the gap between what you believe and how you behave. It's a life of second chances.

If you believe in second chances you must believe in a second chance for Vick, who admitted his crime, served his time, and expressed remorse. So go get 'em, Michael.
Hooray, Eagles!