Judges favoring unusual sentences

Dear Gd,
I wish for the opportunity to see one of these "punishees," so that I can tug his/hair and giggle furiously until I am forcibly removed.
Also, I hope that you have all the obese white trash say racy things to these Wal-Mart theives. You really have to feel bad for you when the trailer trash rolls away in disgust.
Love,
Rachel

PALATKA, Fla. - Reshane Lewis wasn’t happy, parading outside the courthouse for two hours with a sign reading: “I stole from a local store.”

“It is better than going to jail, but it’s not fair,” complained Lewis, who was arrested in a Wal-Mart last year for acting as lookout for a shoplifter.

Judge Peter Miller has sentenced more than 600 shoplifters to carry signs over the past dozen years. He is one of several judges nationwide who favor unusual sentences. So far, only three sign carriers have reoffended.

“If you see someone marching up and down in front of a store, you may think twice before stealing,” said Miller, who gives the thieves a choice of a 30- or 60-day jail sentence or two hours of humiliation. Miller isn’t the only one trying creative sentences:

Teens who yelled “Pigs” at cops in Ohio were forced by Judge Michael A. Cicconetti to stand on a street corner with a pig and a sign reading, “This is not a police officer.” He made three johns wear chicken suits near the area where they were arrested and carry a sign that referred to a notorious brothel: “There is no chicken ranch in Painesville.”

Texas Judge Larry Standley ordered a man who had slapped his wife to take yoga classes to help him lessen his anger.

Public Defender Mack Brunton, who represents defendants before Miller, said, “We don’t like it, but what he does is legal.” But he added, “It seems to work fairly well.” He said defendants “cringe” when given Miller’s option of jail or sign.