Jacob Sullum in The Washington Post: Is Looking at Child Pornography Tantamount to Abusing Children?

In the letter he wrote on the
day he hanged himself last month, Ryan Loskarn talked
about the shame and guilt he felt after he was caught with child
pornography. Loskarn, former chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander
(R-Tenn.), did not mention fear of prison, perhaps because he had
already resolved to end his life. But for anyone in his position
who planned to stay alive, the prospect of spending years behind
bars would loom large. In fact, writes Jacob Sullum in The
Washington Post, the legal treatment of people caught with
child pornography is so harsh that they can end up serving longer
sentences than people who actually abuse children. 

Read the article.