Judge Orders Shoplifters to Wear Signs Saying "I’m a Thief"

When a person is caught shoplifting, they are usually banned from the store, fined, ordered to pay restitution, and given probation unless they have prior convictions. But a judge in Alabama decided to step outside the boundaries of "usual" when issuing sentences to two shoplifters in Atalla City.

Judge Kenneth Robertson, Jr., required two shoplifters to stand outside the Wal-Mart where they were caught shoplifting for four hours each on two successive Saturdays—wearing a big sandwich sign saying "I am a thief."

Shoppers entering the store got an eyeful of the two humiliated shoplifters and had plenty of remarks to offer them. But despite their embarrassment, the two were probably relieved by the sentence because it allowed them to avoid a 60-day jail sentence. Wal-Mart store manager Neil Hawkins said the store did not ask the judge to sentence the shoplifters to wear the sign, but he thinks the idea was a good one. "The only comments we’ve heard so far have been positive," said Hawkins. "Most of them thought it was a good thing."

One of the shoplifters, Lisa King Fithian, wore the sign from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., and the second shoplifter took up the next shift from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Despite having to wear the sign, Fithian, 46, continued to maintain her innocence. She said that she was convicted because of a misunderstanding, and she had simply been trying to take a $7 item to the service desk because its price would not scan. However, Hawkins told reporters that the store would not have prosecuted her if they had not been sure she was shoplifting, adding that the judge was the one who convicted her based on evidence the store provided.

Fithian said that people who saw her wearing the sign outside the Wal-Mart store told her they thought the punishment was cruel. Hawkins noted that for someone who gets caught shoplifting, this type of punishment is particularly effective because of the public embarrassment it causes. "Maybe they’ll think twice about doing it," he said.