Apparently, some judges and sections of the US public are in favor of the return of the pillory. I am 99% against it, except maybe some minor form of public contrition like making bullies apologize in public to their victims, in schools for instance.
The Nazis actually did do this kind of thing: Here's a quote from AlterNet: "...why does shoplifter Lisa Fithian's punishment sound so chillingly familiar? Because similar placard-around-the-neck punishments were used by German judges both domestically and in "People's Courts" in occupied territories after the Nazi party rose to power in the 1930s." The article then posts several photos illustrating this, showing people being forced to wear signs saying, "I have allowed myself to be shamed by a Jew," "I am a partisan and I set fire to German buildings," and "We are partisans and we shot at German soldiers."
Brings to mind the Stars of David painted on store fronts and homes in Nazi occupied Germany and The Scarlet Letter. Aren't we a bit beyond this as a society. Paying for a mistake in the US is supposed to end with the end of punishment. This would label an individual for life because of one instance of bad judgement, not to mention our courts and prosecutorial society frequently puts the wrong people in prison for crimes they did not do. This is way wrong folks. Think about it. Besides shoplifting is one of those crimes which is only preventable at point of sale. Is it society's responsibility to prosecute and incarcerate when adequate prevention measures have not been taken? Our society has replaced store clerks, security guards and police officers with cameras taking us from crime prevention to a prosecutorial society. Remember the video of the Wal-Mart employee being dragged across the parking lot, forced into her killer's truck and never seen from again? An off-duty police officer escorting everyone to their vehicles would have saved her life but cost Wal-Mart more money. The employee they can easily replace. Sign on the dotted line America, this is what you have agreed to be.
Apparently, some judges and sections of the US public are in favor of the return of the pillory. I am 99% against it, except maybe some minor form of public contrition like making bullies apologize in public to their victims, in schools for instance.
"It worked for you"? Could you be more specific?
it worked for me
The Nazis actually did do this kind of thing: Here's a quote from AlterNet: "...why does shoplifter Lisa Fithian's punishment sound so chillingly familiar? Because similar placard-around-the-neck punishments were used by German judges both domestically and in "People's Courts" in occupied territories after the Nazi party rose to power in the 1930s." The article then posts several photos illustrating this, showing people being forced to wear signs saying, "I have allowed myself to be shamed by a Jew," "I am a partisan and I set fire to German buildings," and "We are partisans and we shot at German soldiers."
Brings to mind the Stars of David painted on store fronts and homes in Nazi occupied Germany and The Scarlet Letter. Aren't we a bit beyond this as a society. Paying for a mistake in the US is supposed to end with the end of punishment. This would label an individual for life because of one instance of bad judgement, not to mention our courts and prosecutorial society frequently puts the wrong people in prison for crimes they did not do. This is way wrong folks. Think about it. Besides shoplifting is one of those crimes which is only preventable at point of sale. Is it society's responsibility to prosecute and incarcerate when adequate prevention measures have not been taken? Our society has replaced store clerks, security guards and police officers with cameras taking us from crime prevention to a prosecutorial society. Remember the video of the Wal-Mart employee being dragged across the parking lot, forced into her killer's truck and never seen from again? An off-duty police officer escorting everyone to their vehicles would have saved her life but cost Wal-Mart more money. The employee they can easily replace. Sign on the dotted line America, this is what you have agreed to be.
"I steal forks from restaurants"
Except that unleashing said individuals into a mob of people would likely result in them getting beaten, quite possibly to death
I would like to see pedophiles with a sign saying "I am a child molester". But I guess it would create havoc.
That's a good point. I didn't think of that.
It's better than wasting our tax paying money keeping them in a jail cell.