MERCY AND EXTRADITION:

The report indicates that there can be a plea for mercy even to those whose offence can be grossly immoral in the sight of the public. There is nothing which can justify child pornography, child abuse, and one can find little moral justification even fo adult pornography. Both from the report and the indictment it was not clear how grave was the fact of child abuse confessed by the offender. In any case, there can be several points which can mitigate the moral guilt of the offender, and therefore influence the severity of criminal condemnation and sentence.

First of all, before passing a condemnation judgement on Rosser, one has to take into account the present state of pornography in which the crime of Rosser took place. Pornographic materials are easily accessed through the Internet, TV, and the press. Many movies and journals contain what is called ‘soft pornography’, which can be seen by many as rather attractive, and not as disgusting as so called ‘hard pornography’. We live in the world where people can be very vulnerable and easily addicted to pornography. Whatever is the case, the fact is that the addiction to pornographic materials becomes a common thing in the age of information technology. There are reports that people addicted to child pornography went first through the addiction to adult pornography, after finding it not exciting any more, turned to more base forms of it.

We need to understand the context of the crime committed by Rosser, and this context is that he lives in the world filled with pornographic materials, and he is not, if at all, the only one who has to be blamed for it. The US government turning their blind eye on many forms of adult pornography can be seen as contributing to the crime committed by Rosser. It is reported that the US was at the time of the offence and perhaps is still the biggest producer of pornographic materials(19). One cannot win the fight against child pornography without suppressing adult pornography. The easiness of the access to the filthy materials is a mitigating circumstance in the case of Rosser. When there are many, who not only enjoy freedom, but also reap fortunes from pornography business without much hindrance defiling the moral life and integrity of millions of people, imposing a severe legal sanction on one of their victim is in itself an immoral thing.