Public shaming instead of incarceration in Pennsylvania theft case
A helpful reader forwarded to me this story from Pennsylvania, headlined “Women Hold Signs Admitting Theft.” Long-time readers may recall that I tend to be a supporter of shaming sanctions, especially when they serve as a substitute for incarceration. As the press report explains, that’s exactly what has happened in this notable state case:
In exchange for no jail time, a woman and her adult daughter have agreed to stand outside a Pennsylvania courthouse holding signs saying they stole a gift card from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday.
Fifty-six-year-old Evelyn Border and 35-year-old Tina Griekspoor stood outside the court for 4 1/2 hours Tuesday. They held signs that read: “I stole from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday! Don’t steal or this could happen to you!”
Because the women agreed to hold the signs, Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins says he’ll ask for probation instead of jail when they plead guilty to the theft. Higgins says they swiped a gift card that the girl set on a shelf while a Walmart employee helped her.
The girl’s mother planned to drive by the courthouse to teach her daughter the importance of obeying the law.
Some new and old posts on shaming sentences:
- Shaming t-shirts ordered as part of community service sentence
- Six-year-old suggests dad’s shaming sentence
- A proper case for shaming?
- What punishments really undermine human dignity?
- Shaming punishments and communitarianism
- New article on shaming sanctions
- More shame, shame on you
- The state of shaming punishments (with lots of links)