An American judge has allowed a captured criminal to avoid jail time by wearing a sign declaring that he is a thief.
Greg Davenport of Liberty, Ohio was permitted to hold a sign that read, ‘I am a thief. I stole from Walmart,’ for eight hours a day for 10 days, instead of spending 30 days in jail, United Press International reports.
Davenport was caught when he attempted to walk out of a Walmart store carrying a 52-inch television. In the past he’s been charged with petty theft multiple times.
Davenport spoke to his local news station, WKBN, as he served the unusual punishment.
He said:
I stole, I got punished. That’s it.
Liberty Police Chief Richard Tisone said he hopes this kind of punishment can encourage him to change his ways.
He said:
Maybe you can get to their inner side. Maybe they’re a little embarrassed by the fact they have to hold a sign up, so it might affect some of these individuals, so I’m all for it…
A monitor made sure to check up on Davenport every hour to make sure that he was sticking to his punishment.
Despite being publicly shamed Davenport claims he’s not embarrassed by having to hold the sign and waving at passing cars, admitting he just wants to get the sentence over with, saying: “It’s better than being in jail.”
It’s nice to seeing judges being creative!
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.