This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/16/john-grisham-prison-sentences-child-abuse-images

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
John Grisham: sentences too harsh for viewing child abuse images John Grisham: sentences too harsh for viewing child abuse images
(about 1 hour later)
Top-selling author John Grisham says people who look at child abuse images “probably had too much to drink” and should be given lighter prison sentences. The author John Grisham has said people who look at child abuse images “probably had too much to drink” and should be given lighter prison sentences.
The novelist, 59, criticised the length of imprisonment imposed on offenders who download images of children being sexually abused. He also revealed that one of his friends had been caught in a sting. Grisham, 59, made the comments during an interview in which he criticised the US justice system and the high number of serving convicts.
The writer made the comments during an interview in which he blasted the US justice system and the high number of serving convicts. “We have prisons now filled with guys my age. Sixty-year-old white men in prison who have never harmed anybody, would never touch a child,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “But they got online one night and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, and pushed the wrong buttons, went too far and got into child porn.”
“We have prisons now filled with guys my age. Sixty-year-old white men in prison who have never harmed anybody, would never touch a child,” he told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper. “But they got online one night and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, and pushed the wrong buttons, went too far and got into child porn.” Grisham said too many people were being jailed for crimes such as minor drugs offences and white-collar crime. He said judges had “gone crazy” in the past 30 years.
Grisham said too many people were being jailed for crimes such as minor drugs charges and white collar crime. He added that judges had “gone crazy” during the past 30 years. He said a friend from law school had been jailed for three years for viewing child abuse images in Canada. He said the site was labelled “16-year-old wannabe hookers”, and his friend’s drinking had been out of control at the time.
The author of legal thrillers such as The Firm and A Time To Kill, who has sold more than 275m books during his 25-year career, added that his friend from law school had been jailed for three years for viewing child abuse images in Canada. He added: “I have no sympathy for real paedophiles. God, please lock those people up. But so many of these guys do not deserve harsh prison sentences, and that’s what they’re getting.”
He said the site was labelled “16-year-old wannabe hookers” and that his friend’s drinking had been out of control at the time. Asked about the fact that viewing such content fuelled abuse of youngsters to create the images, Grisham insisted that sentences should be lower for people who only downloaded it.
Grisham said the US had “gone nuts” on incarceration and criticised the number of people being prosecuted as sex offenders. “I have no sympathy for real paedophiles. God, please lock those people up. But so many of these guys do not deserve harsh prison sentences, and that’s what they’re getting,” he said. Grisham, the author of legal thrillers such as The Firm and A Time To Kill, has sold more than 275m books in his 25-year career.
Asked about the fact that viewing such content fuels abuse of youngsters to create the images, Grisham insisted that sentences should be lower for people who only downloaded it.