eSJayBee
08-11-2004, 11:49 AM
Court Approves Public Shaming of Mail Thief
source (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=5&u=/nm/20040810/od_nm/crime_humiliation_dc)
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A man required to wear a signboard stating "I stole mail. This is my punishment," outside a San Francisco post office was reasonably sanctioned, a U.S. federal court said on Monday.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's order that required mail thief Shawn Gementera to wear the sign, noting the public humiliation was intended to "break" him of an illusion he had committed a victimless crime.
Paired with requiring Gementera to write apologies and lecture at a high school, the "somewhat crude" condition he wear the signboard provided an opportunity to "repair his relationship with society," the court ruled.
Gementera had argued the signboard served no purpose other than to humiliate him.
source (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=5&u=/nm/20040810/od_nm/crime_humiliation_dc)
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A man required to wear a signboard stating "I stole mail. This is my punishment," outside a San Francisco post office was reasonably sanctioned, a U.S. federal court said on Monday.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's order that required mail thief Shawn Gementera to wear the sign, noting the public humiliation was intended to "break" him of an illusion he had committed a victimless crime.
Paired with requiring Gementera to write apologies and lecture at a high school, the "somewhat crude" condition he wear the signboard provided an opportunity to "repair his relationship with society," the court ruled.
Gementera had argued the signboard served no purpose other than to humiliate him.