I would pose the following question to the reader to put their mind in the proper frame to read A Tortuous Path: should a smoker who is not part of the tobacco industry be held accountable for a child who he does not know getting cancer?

Christopher Pelloski’s "A Tortuous Path – Atonement and Reinvention in a Broken System" is the sequel to "Trauma, Shame, and the Power of Love". It describes in detail his experiences during incarceration. This second text is much more prescriptive than the first. As such, both books should definitely be purchased as a set. The two, together, have much greater value than either has read as a stand – alone work. The latter part of the second book is an evidenced – based discourse on the sentencing procedures for child – pornography offenses.

The most important discussion within the book concerns US Supreme Court Chief Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy’s arguments regarding incarceration cited rates of recidivism by convicted porn viewers. The information used by Kennedy has been subsequently shown to have been fabricated!

Pelloski describes instances of persons in their young twenties being incarcerated for extensive periods and put at an extreme economic disadvantage for finding employment upon discharge. He describes this legal path as utterly insane especially in light of the recidivism rates that are far lower than the fabricated rates used by the Supreme Court. Diversion programs, similar to those used by consumers of illicit drugs should be the corrective model used.

"many teens in high school send explicit pictures of themselves and their friends to each other—which technically is production and distribution of child pornography, since the subjects of the media are under eighteen years of age, even if the subjects are themselves. And yes, cases are emerging where teens are considered to have victimized themselves and are punished for it as if they were abusing adults, while state laws… are being drafted to further criminalize this common activity among teens"

To whatever extent Pelloski is right about the above quote, the legal situation truly has become irrational. He suggests looking to Western Europe (especially Finland or Germany) for a more rational approach to dealing with consumers of child pornography. The populist sensationalizing of the issues in America suggest to Pelloski that only the Federal court system – not the legislative systems – can effect reform. ( )