Woman who stole fuel ordered to wear sign

[UpInArms]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=BRF%20Sign%20of%20Shame

SALISBURY, Md. -- A woman who stole $4.52 worth of fuel was ordered to stand outside the gas station Friday wearing a sandwich board sign that declared: "I was caught stealing gas."

<snip>

Andrew Black, who stopped by on his lunch break, was critical of the punishment and converted an old beer poster into a sign protesting high gas prices.

"What is this, the Middle Ages?" said Black.

Purnell declined to comment.

...more...

[Wednesdays]

1. "What is this, the Middle Ages?"

One would think so.

[bullimiami]

28. all of the corporate and government crooks

should have

"I LIED AND STOLE YOUR MONEY"

Tattooed on their foreheads.

[joeunderdog]

79. How 'bout Chimp on the corner of Pennsylvania Ave

with a sign saying "I stole the 2000 election."

...with Exxon and Enron as accomplices (Read Palast about this.)

[Massacure]

2. lol That is a worthy punishment.

It makes people think twice about stealing gas.

[Caution]

4. Are you kidding?

Go out and read the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

[Baltimoreboy]

15. She was humiliated

She could have been jailed. Next time she should be.

[Skittles]

31. do you think thieving corporate executives should suffer the same?

because no doubt they never will.

[Baltimoreboy]

52. No, worse

She stole about $4. If you steal a lot more, you should go to jail AND get humiliated. I love the perp walk.

[Skittles]

54. there are sometimes severe psychogical reasons why people steal

humiliation is not the answer

[Baltimoreboy]

61. And what is your point?

Should we put every petty criminal in analysis?

That would be ridiculous. Although I am sure the psychiatric industry would love you for the thought.

[UpInArms]

7. yeah, what a great idea (not!)

next on the agenda:

cutting of hands

putting out eyes

tattooing (oh, we already do that)

branding

scarring

public hangings

[Massacure]

8. Torturing someone and forcing them to tell other's not to steal

are two different ball games.

[UpInArms]

11. it's a fine line

check out the "frat pranks" at Abu Ghraib - all designed to "humiliate" - who gets to decide what is appropriate?

[TahitiNut]

22. So, you like stocks?

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[0007]

18. Give me a break!!

[frylock]

23. should have chopped off her hand..

that'll learn em!!! :eyes:

[SoCalDem]

24. Is there a big enough sign for Kenny-Boy to wear???

Maybe that would be a fitting punishment for him.. He could be paraded up and down Houston's streets wearing a sign that says:

"I am a worthless scumbag who stole my employees futures, robbed California, and helped install a worthless peice of shit in Washington"...

Yep.. Put a leash on that KennyBoy and make him parade through the streets.. especially when it's 108 in the shade :)

[Elginoid]

56. i would call it closer 'cruel & unusual' than..."worthy"???

sheese...:eyes:

[mermaid]

3. I Have A Funny Story About Stealing Gas...

A freind of mine owns a motorhome.

One evening, an enterprising young man decided to steal some gas from my friend's motorhome, due to the incredible cost of gasoline now.

So...this enterprising young man has a siphoning rubber tube, and siphons by mouth.

My friend found this guy, incredibly ill...lying beside his motorhome in the morning.

Ambulance was called for the enterprising youth...and police arrived on the scene.

Turns out this enterprising youth had siphoned from the septic tank of the motorhome, rather than the fuel tank!

My friend declined to press charges against the youth, saying firstly, the youth had been punished enough already...and secondly, that he hadn't had a greater horselaugh in twenty years!

Fuckin' LOL!!!

[KansDem]

12. LOL

Thanks for the story! :D

Sounds like a candidate for one of those "stupid criminal" shows.

[boobooday]

16. Oh My God

That's disgusting!

Whoa, talk about reaping what you suck!

haha

:puke:

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[chopper]

38. wow...

so your 'friend' is the source of that old Urban Legend?

http://www.snopes.com/autos/theft/siphon.asp

interesting...

[DoNotRefill]

44. That's not true.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/theft/siphon.asp

[mermaid]

50. I Said It Was A Funny Story

I copied it and pasted it.
Didn't really occur to me at the time anyone was assuming it was MY friend. Chalk it up to having gotten about zero sleep in the last 48 hours.
Incidentally, I had that saved in my computer, and it was originally lifted from a Reader's Digest.
So, no, I didn't get it from urban legends. Didn't even know it was one.
I just thought, in light of the topic at hand, it was a good story to share.

[montana_hazeleyes]

53. off story but I just now saw it

Love your baby pic DoNotRefill! Big, beautiful baby.:-) :hi:

[DoNotRefill]

55. thanks!

now if I can ever get rid of the sour milk smell inherent with babies.... ;)

It's time for my fifth shower of the day....

[Rose Siding]

5. To Andrew

:toast:

Destroying self esteem via humiliation does not a productive citizen make.

[Orangepeel]

9. well, I'm not so sure

this was a very minor crime and would have best been punished with a fine and a lecture from a judge, I think.

But, if given a choice between public humiliation and jail time for a crime, I'm guessing that most people would choose the humiliation. It would probably be more effective than jail in terms of future prevention, as well (given how uneffective jail is).

[mermaid]

6. An Accidental Driveoff

I also, once accidentally drove off without paying for gas.

I got gas, and then went in to pay, also getting cigarettes. This was a convenience store I frequented often, and was well-known at.

This was in Louisville, KY. that evening, I was driving to a gathering in Indianapolis.

I was halfway to Indianapolis, when it occurred to me that the clerk had never charged me for the gas...only the cigarettes!

I continued on to Indianapolis.

The next day, back in Louisville, I went to the convenience store, told them what had happened, apologized, and paid for the gas.

[Massacure]

10. If you went to pay and they didn't charge you for it, it is their fault.

Isn't it?

[mermaid]

13. Yes

BUT, I would not have been able to live with myself, knowing I'd done it. My conscience woulda bugged me.

If I'd never realized it, that would be one thing. Bur I DID realize it. and so I paid it.

Also, remember, this was a store I frequented rather regularly.

Honesty sucks in the short-term, but sometimes it really helps in the long-term. At least I can look at myself in the mirror, and think well of myself, you know?

[boobooday]

14. Okay, well, if that's how it's gonna be . . .

What sign shall we put on Ken Lay? George Bush and Dick Cheney?

Should they stand in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave for the next four years with a sign that says:

I tried to destroy America?

A scarlett "F" for Fascist?

Hmmmm.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[Swamp Rat]

40. YES! Scarlet "F" for Fascists!!!

Excellent idea... as long as the sentence is for life and it's legal to throw rotten tomatoes at them. Actually, put them in prison but erect bronze statues of the traitors - this might be better since those traitors derserve never to see the light of day ever again.

[leesa]

17. But our government is stealing mass quantities of fuel from Iraq and it

is fine, glorious, patriotic...

[Judi Lynn]

19. Not only stealing, but forcing people to die getting it for them. n/t

[MercutioATC]

20. I think she should have been given a choice: Jail or the sign.

[DoNotRefill]

42. I think she probably was given a choice...

and chose the sign.

That's normally how they get around the "cruel and unusual" thing. They sentence you to X amount of time in jail, and give you the option of doing the other thing in lieu if jail time.

[Jack_DeLeon]

46. Yep...

It almost certainly had to happen that way.

Because had she only been given the option of wearing the sign what would they have done if she absolutely choose not to wear it? Its not like they can physically force her to wear the sign.

In which case they would probably have given her a contempt of court charge and made her stay a day or whatever in jail and that would be it.

Some poeple will actually choose jail time over other options too.

In many places you will be given the option to do jail time instead of paying fines if you are so inclined.

I heard a story of one guy who got a pretty big speeding ticket and he didnt want to pay the fine so he asked the judge if he could be given the option of doing jail time instead.

The Judge wasnt interested in it, because the county wanted money not to have to jail someone (and thus waste more of the counties money on him), so the judge refused his request.

The guy got the last laugh though because all he had to do was refuse to pay the fine and then the court had no choice but to just jail him.

[Bo]

21. FOR $4.52,!!!! What the f****

IS WRONG WITH US???? What next an Iron maiden for shop lifters? Whats going on in America? no wonder I lived inSouth America for so long.

[sandboxface]

25. My parents would love this...

They owned a gas station for 30 years. "Dealers", people who own their station as apposed to a corporation who owns a bunch of stations, make an average of .11/gallon. That's nothing. They have to make their money in the food mart or garage. It gets personal when you have idiots fill up their tanks with $30 of fuel and drive away. The police don't care.

I do think this punishment was pretty ridiculous.

[JohnLocke]

26. Unbelievable.

[JohnLocke]

27. Photos, local paper stories here

Gas thief makes a spectacle of herself
By John Vandiver -- Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times
Friday, July 30, 2004
----
When Sherelle Purnell sped away from Gordy's Tiger Mart in Salisbury, Md., without paying for $4.52 worth of gasoline, she probably didn't think the punishment would be three hours of court-ordered public humiliation.
But from noon to 3 p.m. today, the 18-year-old will be standing in front of the convenience store near the Centre at Salisbury on U.S. 13 wearing a sandwich board sign that reads: "I was caught stealing gas."
Though Wicomico County District Court Judge D. William Simpson ordered the punishment, the unconventional sentence was the brainchild of Tiger Mart store manager Jan Phipps.
"The reaction in the courtroom was unbelievable. Everyone said 'Oh my God,' '' said Phipps, who asked prosecutors to seek the unusual punishment.
Purnell's crime was caught on a surveillance system that has helped cut gas thefts by 60 percent since February.
According to the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Convenience Stores, gas theft costs the industry about $112 million a year. The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation this year that would temporarily suspend driver's licenses for people convicted of gas theft, joining 24 other states with similar laws.
Wicomico Sheriff Hunter Nelms said he supports sentences such as the one issued by Simpson.
"Apparently, everything else we do isn't acting as a deterrent," he said.
(...)
Read the rest here.
----
Unusual public punishment carried out
By John Vandiver -- Daily Times
Saturday, July 31, 2004
----
SALISBURY -- Sherelle Purnell's facial expression went from one of embarrassment to defiance as she puffed a cigarette and lugged a sandwich board sign that declared: "I was caught stealing gas."
The 18-year-old Salisbury woman on Friday obeyed a court order that required her to stand for three hours in front of Gordy's Tiger Mart on Route 13, the place where surveillance tape recorded Purnell speeding away from a gas pump with $4.52 worth of fuel.
Under the watch of curious onlookers and television cameras, Purnell dutifully walked along the convenience shop's grassy storefront, as passing drivers honked car horns and blurted catcalls.
(...)
When she pulled up to Tiger Mart's pump 15 on April 4, Purnell's gold-colored Hyundai was running on empty. After filling her car with 2.78 gallons of fuel, Purnell went into the store and asked a cashier what the cost was for a pack of Philly Blunt cigars, according to court records. Deciding not to purchase the cigars, Purnell then walked out of the store and drove away, without paying for the gas.
Wicomico County District Court Judge D. William Simpson on July 16 ordered Purnell to carry the sign after Tiger Mart's store manager persuaded prosecutors to seek the unconventional punishment.
With four more court cases pending, Phipps said she plans to pursue more public punishments for gas thieves.
"This is very appropriate. I hope it sends a clear message to the community," she said.
(...)
Randy Jedlicka, who stopped by the Tiger Mart for lunch Friday, said Purnell's punishment should serve as a strong deterrent.
"Embarrassment is the best way to deal with these things," he said.
(...)
----
Read the rest here.
----

----
She's black. I highly doubt this would this have happened had she been white.

[Trashman]

29. She doesn't appear to be too

humiliated? Looks like she can afford soda. She appears to be a healthy woman capable of working. Should we just allow thieves to go unpunished? I find nothing wrong with the punishment, except she should have to pay fines for the gas and court cost too.

I don't think it was a special punishment for black people.

[UpInArms]

34. and what does "humiliation" look like?

guess we're glad you here :eyes:

:hi:

Somehow this is a type of punishment that I haven't read in the penal codes.

[GaryL]

35. I have an idea.

Let's bring back stockades. Bonehead!
:grr:

[DoNotRefill]

36. I dunno...

we had a "cop wannabe" around here a while back. He put flashers on his car, and did a bunch of other bogus stuff pretending he was a police officer. The court sentenced him to walk around in front of the courthouse with a sandwich board reading "I am not a police officer" for a while. The purpose was to humiliate him. It was either that or jail. The guy did it. He was white.

[JohnLocke]

39. That's a lot different than stealing less than $5 of gas.

[DoNotRefill]

43. what would an appropriate punishment be?

restitution? Where's the deterrent value in that? A hefty fine? that might put undue hardship on her. A night in jail? That'd cost the government far more than the crime, and probably wouldn't have the deterrent value that carrying the sign had. Revoking her driver's license? That's what they do here, and it seems unduely harsh.

So what would an appropriate punishment be?

[JohnLocke]

47. Restitution, community service, and a stern lecture from the judge.

[Violet_Crumble]

59. Strange how folk so bent on public humiliation can't see that...

What you just pointed out is the obvious way to deal with something like that. But I guess it doesn't appeal to the crowd who think that public humiliation actually achieves anything positive....

Violet...

[JohnLocke]

66. Thanks...

:)

[Skittles]

30. this is disgusting

Humiliation is not right under any circumstances.

[Mara Steele]

32. msg deleted <eom>

[thebigidea]

33. though it'd be great to have Cheney in a state fair dunk-tank type thing

[DoNotRefill]

37. would incarceration have been better?

eom

[Skittles]

49. probation and counseling

nt

[DoNotRefill]

51. probation?

for stealing less than 5 dollars? What if she screwed up again and it got revoked? What kind of sentence is appropriate?

[gatlingforme]

78. How about a fine plus court cost and supervision for 6mos.?

this is a misdemeanor not a felony.

[tom_paine]

81. PROBATION for a first time petty offender

Nice False Dichotomy, though.

[mrbassman03]

73. Maybe if she stole a little more...

Like to the tune of $100 million...

[Swamp Rat]

76. Yep.

Welcome to DU! :toast:

[Swamp Rat]

41. We are entering a new Dark Ages.

The Inquisition is next, headed by Ashcroft.

[Bo]

72. Dark ages began in 2001 w/ *

[Swamp Rat]

75. Well, it began way before that but your are right to point out this date.

It's a significant time because that's when the ugly head of fascism unmasked itself here in the USA. We are headed toward a major confrontation...

[Jack_DeLeon]

45. I dont see anything wrong with this...

she could have have paid a fine and/or served jail time instead if she wanted to.

She obviously choose to go through with this instead.

[daleo]

48. "The law doesn't deal with trifles"

That is a saying I have heard. Try going to court to collect on a $4.52 debt that someone owes you, if you don't believe it. That is probably what a judge will say, if you make it that far. Granted, there has to be a way to deter petty theft. This just seems like overkill.

She doesn't look too humiliated. It would be interesting to hear her side of the story. My hunch is that she drove off just forgetting about the gas (why would she go into the store and ask about cigars if she didn't intend to pay?). There is probably more to this story. Perhaps her age and race played a roll.

At least she didn't finish chewing on a candy bar while entering a subway station.

[psychopomp]

62. If she was pricing Blunts

I could see how she might forget the gas.:smoke:

But seriously, if I were an adult looking at having a record and a fine or standing in front of strangers with a placard I might choose the latter.

I can't say that this is right in this case, however; I can only speak for myself.

[AlFrankenFan]

57. Hmm...if this is acceptable, what sign should we make...

Bush, Ashcroft, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Rove, and the gang wear to the Kerry inauguration? "I did my part in electing this man by screwing up the country."

[sandnsea]

58. Meanwhile, $1billion missing in Baghdad

Humiliation and degradation. And we wonder why those troops thought it was okay to make a butt pyramid. This country is losing its soul.

[Moloch]

60. Ugh....

I work at a gas station and This week I have paid over $50 out of my own pocket for people who have stolen gas. Personally though, I would rather see the assholes who run these companies and mistreat their employees by making them pay for something they have no control over wear signs better yet put them in stocks so I can throw eggs and stuff on them....

[Judi Lynn]

63. Funny thing. I just remembered a story I haven't thought of in ages.

Very fitting, too, for a Sunday. I've heard it a kazillion times, as I was a "preacher's kid."

As Christ said to the townspeople who were hell-bent on punishing a woman accused of adultery:

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
It doesn't take a lot to bring out the hypocrisy, pomposity, and downright slippery dishonesty in certain kinds of grudge-bearing people when they get a chance to represent themselves to others as being sinless, while condemning, finding fault and reviling someone else.

[tom_paine]

64. Yes, Imperial Amerika is leading the way back to the Middle Ages

Torture, lying preplanned invasions, machiavellianism...Mayberry machiavellianism, no justice, wealth inequity, and medeval punishments.

Sure, we have a long way to go still, but the Imperial Family Bush and their Crusader Rabbits are dismantling civilization as swiftly as possible.

[Baltimoreboy]

65. What does your post have to does with the original situation?

This woman could have been jailed for her crime. Instead she was shamed a tiny bit. I bet if you asked her, she'd prefer the shaming.

[tom_paine]

69. And yet, the Medeval nature of her punishment and shaming is clear...

Whatever her preference might have been.

[Baltimoreboy]

70. It's medevil just to shame someone?

So community service is also medevil?

What do you propose for minor offenders?

[JohnLocke]

71. See post #37.

[tom_paine]

82. False dichotomy. See posts 49, 51, 78, 81...

[tom_paine]

80. Community Service is shaming? Not primarily

Going to jail is also shaming, by that logic.

ALL punishment is shaming. That's a non sequitur.

I am not proposing policy here.

Instead you are stuffing words in my mouth and not doig a very good job of it. Your Straw Men aren't even related to my point.

Care to build another so that you can knock it down?

[Swamp Rat]

74. Welcome to the Dark Ages part X

If I were there, I'd wear a sign and stand right next to her that would say:

"This poor woman next to me is publicly shamed for stealing a little gasoline, yet George W. Bush steals billions in oil while killing thousands of children and American soldiers. How come he doesn't have to wear a sign?"

I'd wear a Hitler suit and Bush mask under the sign.

[Judi Lynn]

68. You're right. Bush officially set the tone when he stole the Presidency

Only occassional judges of conscience will dare depart from the nasty, short-sighted, easily pleased impulse to impart serious, severe damage to those who displease them.

Why not destroy the person's reputation and life, crush her spirit, reduce her to cheap entertainment for hostile, ignorant idiots who would love the thought of being able to show up and torment someone who has strayed from the straight and narrow?

That's not what their Jayzuz tells them in their "Good Book" which they claim hoists them far above the rest of humanity.

When the country's back on track, you won't see this kind of massive societal, overt, vicious behavior sanctioned. You made a good point.

[johnfunk]

67. OTOH -- If there were real justice in this nation...

... former Texas Governor George W. Bush and his lawyer James BaKKKer would be sentenced for four years to wear sandwich signs reading:

"I was caught stealing the presidential election."

[daleo]

77. On the back it would say

And I started an illegal war which has killed nearly a thousand soldiers and tens of thousands of innocent civilians (so far).