The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by TL Hines:

Mr. Hines, we don't jail people for what they think.
I'm not claiming that we do, or that we should. I'm merely suggesting Mr. Dalton's past actions had a bearing on this case. He wasn't brought to trial merely for keeping this journal, but for showing a pattern of behavior. Does that mean the State of Ohio was "right" or "justified" for filing charges? That's a different debate.

I've seen no reports that he's ever done anything other than fantasize about it.
If I understand the case correctly, Mr. Dalton had a previous conviction related to child pornography, although the exact details are somewhat fuzzy.

And forbidding him to think about those fantasies in any objective way -- writing them down being a good technique for doing that -- is not going to help him understand that point.
I agree with this totally. I'm not trying to defend what the State of Ohio has done in this case; I'm merely pointing out some of the gray areas. Indeed, I think we might argue that writing his fantasies may have some therapeutic value, and prevent him from acting them out in person.

I think we have to consider extenuating circumstances in this case. Dalton was on probation for a previous "pandering conviction involving pornographic photographs of children." The existence of this journal indicates his proclivities haven't changed.

Would this journal raise my eyebrows if I were Mr. Dalton's Probation Officer? Yes. Would this journal make me want to charge Mr. Dalton with something to get him behind bars if I were the State of Ohio? Well, I'm not the State of Ohio, but I think you see my point. The particular conduct in this instance (journaling private thoughts) didn't create the case; the underlying pattern of behavior--the bigger picture--did.

If a man with no previous child porn convictions had written this journal, I'm sure he wouldn't have generated the attention--or the trial.

The "bipolar schizophrenic paranoid psycho nutboy" uncle in "Grandma's Been Kidnapped!" has to stand out as a classic character in American literature. And film, for that matter. Uncle Nutboy specifically reminded me of two documentaries: Jesco White, the Dancing Outlaw, and Errol Morris's classic tale of Vernon, Florida. Be afraid of hillbillies. Be very afraid.

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