R v (1) GRAHAM WESTGARTH SMITH (2) MIKE JAYSON (2002)

[Nicholas Bohm]

At 19:14 26/04/2002 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:
>In message <3CC9760C.EA19D578@algroup.co.uk>, Ben Laurie
><ben@algroup.co.uk> writes
>>And no-one's beliefs, no matter how qualified they are to
>>hold them, count as research.
>
>In this case the beliefs arise from extensive research with the
>perpetrators.

Who may be expected to say, "It's not my fault, the pictures made me do
it."  (This effect might be less material where they say, "Yes, the
pictures got a lot of kids going who were reluctant at first.")

To justify suppression of possession not involving direct abuse, though,
you surely need to find that the harm done by it exceeds (a) any good done
by diverting interest from people to pictures (b) the general good of not
suppressing freedom of expression (c) the opportunity cost of the resources
devoted to suppression.

Regards

Nicholas

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