Justice Served

As Americans we put our faith in the justice system to determine innocence and to punish those guilty of doing wrong. But sometimes there’s nothing more effective than public humiliation as a way to pay for the crime.

A judge in Bedford, Pennsylvania sentenced a woman and her daughter to some sidewalk sitting instead of jail time. The only catch was they had to hold up a sign broadcasting their crime for everyone who drove by to see.

Fifty six year old Evelyn border and her thirty five year old daughter Tina Griekspoor were sentenced to sit for fourty one and a half hours outside the courtroom with a sign that read “I stole from a nine year old girl on her birthday! Don’t steal or this could happen to you.”

Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins says because the women agreed to hold the signs after pleading guilty to theft, he asked for probation instead of time behind bars. Higgins says the women stole a Wal-Mart gift card from the little girl after she set it on a shelf while being helped by an employee.

Personally, I don’t think this would work for all crimes. I just can’t see Bernie Madoff lasting very long sitting on a street corner with a sign saying “I stole billions of dollars of your hard-earned money”.
Prison is just a lot safer for that big-time crook.

(Brian Banmiller is a national Business Correspondent for CBS News Radio, free lance writer and public speaker. The former television business news anchor in San Francisco can be reached at brian@banmilleronbusiness.com .)