Judge Issues Shame as Punishment

   In Cleveland, Ohio, Judge Pinkey Carr issued a punishment that offers better results than just jail time. After 58-year-old Richard Dameron made threatening calls to a policeman, his family, and several other law enforcement officers, Dameron was ordered to serve 90 days in jail, in addition to standing outside the precinct holding a sign revealing to the community and the world his crime. The sign was hand written by the judge and stated, "I apologize to officer Simone, his family, all law enforcement and Ms. Adkins for threatening to kill them. I was being an idiot and it will never happen again,"
    The Puritans had the right idea when they used stocks placed out into the town square to  punish those who broke the law. Not only did they have to endure the humiliation of standing out in the open for everyone to see, but also they had to suffer the embarrassment of a sign stating what they had done.  This type of punishment was effective as a deterrent because it was an example to others who might have the same idea.
    For years if a child misbehaved in school he was ordered to sit in the corner, high on a stool, with a "dunce" cap on his head. It was a very effective form of discipline without the need for corporal punishment. For most people, humiliation is the greatest fear and by far the best punishment. Why is it that anytime a criminal is caught and the camera is around, the perpetrator attempts to hide his face? It's the fear of embarrassment.
    However, psychologists and activists who tout the ill effects of humiliation on a person's psyche and the injustice on the criminal's civil rights, only increase the number of crimes committed, as well as offering the welcome mat of acceptance for their unlawful behavior. Our jails are overcrowded with well-intended rehabilitation techniques that only invite the offender to return for an extended stay with "three hots and a cot," not to mention air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. That's not a punishment, it's an extended stay at the Hotel County 6 paid for by the taxpayers.
    If Walmart were to put several sets of stocks in front of their store, and each time someone was caught stealing, rather than hauling them off to jail, they put them in stocks for everyone to see, along with hanging a sign around their neck that read: I stole from Walmart, causing prices to rise for you, I wonder how long it would take to reduce the percentage of shoplifting.  Embarrassment is the best punishment, and it should be used more often to reduce crime, decrease overcrowding in jails, and save taxpayers dollars.