Jacob Sullum on Unjust Child Porn Penalties

Amy was eight when her uncle began raping her. He took pictures. Last month the Supreme Court considered what restitution Amy is entitled to collect—not from her uncle but from a man, Doyle Paroline, who downloaded two of those pictures. The potential answers to that question range from zero to $3.4 million. According to The New York Times, the justices seemed "stumped." Jacob Sullum says their confusion reflects a deeper problem with the justification for criminalizing possession of child pornography, an offense for which legislators have prescribed increasingly harsh penalties with little regard to sense or justice.