Katsav is not ready to feel remorse
At the very last minute, convicted former President Moshe Katsav denounced his lawyers' statement that the legal battle was over, and instructed his defense team to appeal to the Supreme Court for another hearing. They need 45 days to prepare their new case, a statement said. So far, they haven't asked to delay Katsav's imprisonment in the interests of due process, but that could happen too.
Katsav has as much right to appeal as any other prisoner, and that right is inviolable. I've been trying to find merit in this, and came up with this: The feeling that his legal battle is not over and that there is still someone out there required by law to listen to his version of events, that he is not guilty and has suffered a terrible injustice, could make it easier for him to cope with the distress that affects any person sentenced to a long prison term for the first time, with the attendant stigma.
Katsav will be spending his nights in a dark cell in Maasiyahu Prison in Ramle alongside another dignitary, former Shas minister Shlomo Benizri, but for the first time in his life he will experience a terrible loneliness. This appeal is his method for coping with the angst and loneliness. It gives him a ray of false hope that he hasn't been cut off from the "outside," from "there." After all, even he knows there is hardly any chance the judges will overturn his conviction.
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On the contrary, six judges unanimously deemed him a criminal. If Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch rejects his appeal, or delegates authority to a colleague, that will make seven. If there is another trial, most likely the number will increase to 11. Why go through with this? Not to mention that the multiple appeals will only make it more difficult for him to seek clemency down the line or to have his sentence reduced.
Katsav's request for an appeal shows that he is not ready to admit guilt or express remorse. He has yet to acknowledge his legal defeat or accept his punishment. He is not even fit for psychological treatment, a precondition for any future pardon. Instead, he continues to draw fire from a public that would prefer to forget his deeds and the shame he brought on the presidency. He has ignored the general desire to let him sink into the depths of collective forgetfulness.
His actions on Thursday indicate that even in prison Katsav will not let this go. He will harass the justice system with appeals, suits and demands. These will not help him and will only further upset the public.
And yes, the odds of his appeal being rejected are high.
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