Author John Grisham has made himself a giant of the publishing industry with fast-paced legal bestsellers take readers into the heart of the law, but he’s now found himself soundly convicted in the court of public opinion.
In interview with the U.K.-based Telegraph, the author of such hits as “A Time to Kill” and “The Firm,” suggested that not all viewers of child pornography deserve the harsh punishments they face under the law.
“We have prisons now filled with guys my age, 60-year-old white men, in prison, who’ve never harmed anybody (and) would never touch a child,” Grisham said, discussing high incarerationn rates in the United States.
“But they got online one night and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, and pushed the wrong buttons and went too far and got into child porn. … They deserve some type of punishment, but 10 years in prison?”
The comments – for which Grisham apologized late Thursday — drew a flood of social media criticism, through news outlets that picked them up, Grisham’s Facebook page, and, of course, Twitter.
Suffice it to say, Grisham had been tried by a jury of his peers — and found wanting.
that’s not a humorously edited image. john grisham actually said this and it just gets worse the more you read pic.twitter.com/KAJKWz7G8t
— Cohen is a ghost (@skullmandible) October 16, 2014
At the age of 59 John Grisham stated ‘jails are full of 60-year-old white men who never harmed anybody’. Coincidence? I think not. — FrankenHam on Wry (@HeyZeus666) October 16, 2014
Looking forward to John Grisham’s upcoming thinkpiece “Let’s Go Easier On Nazi War Criminals” — donni (@donni) October 16, 2014
To be fair to John Grisham, he probably just misspoke. It’s not like expressing thoughts via words is his job or anything. — Neuroskeptic (@Neuro_Skeptic) October 16, 2014
Still, some found a kind of gallows of humor in Grisham’s remarks.
Sad to see my favorite author John Grisham is a real douchebag. At least I still have my favorite musician, Pete Townshend.
— Jensen Karp (@JensenClan88) October 16, 2014
(The legendary songwriter for The Who spent five years as a registered sex offender after being charged in 2003 with paying for access to a child pornography website.)
In his apology, Grisham said he deeply regretted the remarks.
“Anyone who harms a child for profit or pleasure, or who in any way participates in child pornography — online or otherwise — should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
“My comments made two days ago during an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph were in no way intended to show sympathy for those convicted of sex crimes, especially the sexual molestation of children. I can think of nothing more despicable. I regret having made these comments, and apologize to all.”
How well that will play out in the future remains to be seen, but Grisham might have made the best move he could.
I accept John Grisham’s apology. This is the right thing to say, at the right time. Humble. Unpretentious. Honest. pic.twitter.com/TBQ7HeSGX0
— Kaleb Horton (@kalebhorton) October 16, 2014
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Kamala Harris: ‘Listen, women are getting pregnant every day in America, and this is a real issue’ - July 25, 2022
- How a small border town is dealing with huge consequences of Biden’s border policies - June 25, 2022
- Biden admin expands ‘critical habitats’ for endangered species to include lands they no longer live in - June 25, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.