UPDATE: John Grisham posted the following message on his Facebook shortly after his original interview was published:
"Anyone who harms a child for profit or pleasure, or who in any way participates in child pornography—online or otherwise—should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
My comments made two days ago during an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph were in no way intended to show sympathy for those convicted of sex crimes, especially the sexual molestation of children. I can think of nothing more despicable. I regret having made these comments, and apologize to all."
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The best-selling author has some harsh words for the American justice system, particularly aimed at how "harsh" prison sentences are for those who view child pornography.
The 59-year-old writer told The Daily Telegraph that while he had no sympathy for "real pedophiles," some people who currently incarcerated for viewing indecent images of kids should've been given a lesser punishment.
"We have prisons now filled with guys my age. 60-year old white men in prison who've never harmed anybody, would never touch a child," he explained.
"But they got online one night and started surfing around, probably had too much to drink or whatever, and pushed the wrong buttons, went too far and got into child porn."
Grisham's added, "I have no sympathy for real pedophiles. God, please lock those people up. But so many of these guys do not deserve harsh prison sentences, and that's what they're getting."
He recalled how a "good buddy" of his has been sentenced to prison for three years after viewing child pornography on a website that showed "16-year-old wannabe hookers" when his drinking was at an all-time high.
Grisham placed the blame on judges, saying that they had "gone crazy" over the last 30 years.
But Jon Brown from the children's charity NSPCC told BBC News that Grisham's comments come with very real consequences.
"Mr. Grisham's comments send a dangerous message that 'just looking' at images online causes no harm. In fact, every image is a real child who has suffered and every time these images are clicked on or downloaded it creates demand that ultimately fuels more child abuse."