Public humiliation to prevent crimes

Public humiliation for mock Marine

Public humiliation for mock Marine
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 12, 2006 - 02:00:00 pm PDT
By RICHARD HANNERS
Whitefish Pilot

A Whitefish man who lied about having served in the U.S. Marines has been ordered by a federal judge to wear a sandwich board in public that labels him a liar who dishonored war veterans.

Horvath faced up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release.

Instead, Chief U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy sentenced Horvath to four years probation, home confinement for four months, a $1,500 fine, a $100 special assessment -- and a public apology.

So what do you all think of this punishment? Is it appropriate for minor crimes such as petty theft, purgery, etc.? Or do you think that the judge was wrong in his sentencing? Please explain your position.

Personally, I think it's a great idea for the minor crimes. It may very well prevent someone from committing some crimes if they know that they will have to wear a sign saying what they did on it. Obviously, this would not be the way to go if the conviction is murder, but I think that for minor crimes it would work.

mod edit:
Quote Reference (review link)
Posting work written by others. **ALL MEMBERS READ** (review link)

[edit on 20-7-2006 by UK Wizard]

I think he's getting off lightly. He deserves the maximum penalty, but I'll defer to the judge in this matter. Public humiliation will probably drive the point home more clearly.

Public humiliation seems a hell of a lot cheaper than prison. I wonder if it were practiced large scale if it would be considered cruel and unusual punishment and therefore unconstitutional. I don't have a problem with it. So long as it has it's limitations and is not made a spectacle by having a TV show or something to snsationalize it.

This type of punishment has been around for thousands of years, from disfiguring criminals, tatooing them, and shaving the heads of female nazi collaborators to tar and feathering. Hell even Jesus's crucifiction was a form of public humiliation.

public humiliation in this case might work. Besides being the laughing stock with the sandwich board stating he's a liar and a fraud, he will also become known for his crime and, therefore, he will no longer be able to do what he was doing without major risk of being spotted as "that moron with the sandwich board"


I was once working in a teen drug and alcohol abuse facility (ripping up the concrete floor while in college - me and two older dudes who broke every rule that facility had while we were there). There was always one or two kids wearing signs that said things like "I got caught sneaking a joint" or "I stole so I could get high"

This was an internal punishment that the home seemed to think would work. The kids we spoke too generally said that the risk of being caught and wearing that sign in front of your friends was a major factor in their not doing things. Not because they didn't want everyone to know they were doing drugs, or drinking etc. Rather, they didn't want anyone to know they were dumb enough to get caught.

Let me preface this by saying I am all for public humiliation. Yet at the same time I wonder why the ACLU has not filed any lawsuits on this?

Certainly this is far worse then wearing a Dunce hat in school and they outlawed its use years ago.


What makes this any different then forcing a child to wear a Dunce hat? A Dunce hat never hurt anyone it just put them in their place as theses signs are doing.

This seems to be a case of let the punishment fit the crime. what he did was clearly wrong but to put him in prison for 5 years seems a waste of taxpayer resources. Seems to me that he will think long and hard before doing something like this again. It might also encourage others to avoid breaking the law since none of us wish to be humiliated like this.

Calling Ms. Hester Primm, yoohoo...Your scarlet letter awaits.

Just kidding...great idea. Certainly cheaper than keeping him locked up in a cell for five years. I feel like a road trip, just so I can heckle the guy for a few minutes .

One time, a while back, I was vacationing in Tuscana - I met a very lovely Italian gal named Maria Renee.

We became obsessed with one another until finally we could not resist temptaion a moment longer.

We slipped away , above her grandmothers produce store to become a bit more familiar with each other.

The store front was made of wood. OLD wood becomes weak.

As we were indulging in the pleasure of the body, the store front ceiling ( the floor to us ) gave way and we fell about 8 feet to the dirt entry way below.

It was the busiest time of the shopping weekend and about 100 people found our compromising situation very humorus. Her Grandma did not.

Was it public? - OH YES

Was it humiliation? - TO SAY THE LEAST

Did I learn a lesson? - LETS JUST SAY I HAVE NEVER MADE LOVE IN ITALY AGAIN!

Case study now complete.




[edit on 20-7-2006 by Mr Beezer]

...I don't know what to think of public humiliation....depending on what that -humiliation- is.....I certainly am against public beheadings or public nudity. So in a sense I am against it because no one has stated any limitations. However I am not against the death-penalty. I think the death-penalty is better than public-humiliation, and community service for minor crimes has more benefits than public-humiliation as well. You humans....

Can there be anything more humilitating than to be fined and sentenced to prison? When a person does what this mock Marine has done, he is fraudulently enhancing his reputation for a selfish cause at the expense of those who have earned the right to be called Marines. To deprive him of that reputation publicly and to label him for what he actually is might be humilitating, but it is far better than the alternative and it just might do a better job of not only punishing the offender, but also detering others from doing the same.