Is Public Humiliation an Effective Form of Discipline?

Recently, a story came out about Jose Gonzalez, a 12-year-old boy from Denver, who was caught stealing $100 from a cousin’s wallet. As punishment, his father, Joseph Gonzalez, sentenced him to ten hours of public humiliation.  At a busy intersection, he had to hold a sign reading “I am a thief.  I took money from a family member. Don’t give me money.”

How did the thief feel? "I think it's, like, fair," Jose said in a DenverPost.com video interview. "I was kind of mad but sad at the same time because I thought I was gonna be embarrassed a lot."

Is Joseph Gonzalez concerned about any possible psychological effects to his son from the punishment? “Nah, he’s only 12-years-old. Everybody makes mistakes at that time in their life. It’s about being corrected.”

Joseph allowed his son bathroom and meal breaks during his punishment. Jose was also brought to his school to admit his offense to a school administrator and a police officer.

Does this punishment sound archaic? Is it relevant? Well, Judge Peter Miller of Putnam County, Florida has been assigning a similar sign-carrying punishment for petty criminals in lieu of a 30-day jail sentence for years. In fact, he has imposed this sentence on up to 2,000 first-time offenders and he says it must be working because he doesn’t see too many of them coming back after a second offense. The Florida State Attorney’s office believes the sign punishment is a very effective deterrent.

Judge Miller’s offenders are legal adults, although often young and still teenagers. His punishment time is two-to-four hours in front of the store where they were caught shoplifting. The NPR show, This American Life, interviewed an 18 year-old female who was serving out her sentence in front of a Kangaroo Express mini-mart in Pomona Park, Florida a few years ago. She admitted that “it is embarrassing” to hold a sign reading “I STOLE FROM THIS STORE.”  However, she also claimed that, “I didn’t learn anything. I might sound stupid or dumb, but I’ll steal again.” Her probation officer estimated about 20 percent of offenders to be unrepentant.

In their interviews, both Joseph Gonzalez and Judge Miller claim that they want the public humiliation to be a deterrent from doing it again.