Judge Orders Wal-Mart Shoplifters to Wear Signs
In a punishment reminiscent of the pillory of times past, two convicted shoplifters were ordered by an Alabama judge to wear signboards outside a local Wal-Mart proclaiming “I am a Thief I Stole from Walmart.”
One defendant proclaimed her innocence, saying that when she was apprehended, she had been trying to return a $7 item to the customer service counter because it would not scan, reports the AP. The 46-year-old woman served the several-hour sign sentence to avoid jail time, however.
The public humiliation should deter other potential shoplifters, and most customers seemed to support it, says Neil Hawkins, a manager at the Attalla, Ala., Wal-Mart. “The only comments we’ve heard so far have been positive. Most of them thought it was a good thing.”
