Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AAdelsonABC36If you get caught shoplifting in Breathitt County, you may receive a unique sentence. Offenders can choose public humiliation instead of jail.
The sign reads, "I shoplifted. Don't be like me!"
Shoplifters can choose to wear a sign that reads, "I shoplifted don't be like me!" Or they can choose to go to jail. A coworker of Breathitt County Attorney Brendon Miller suggested the idea after a shoplifting outbreak.
"County Attorney's Secretary said well why don't you think about putting them out in front of of the store with a sign that says they're shoplifters," said Brendon Miller, the Breathitt County Attorney.
Miller liked the idea, and he's offered it to shoplifters for the last year and a half.
"Several said they will never shoplift again," said Miller.
With Miller watching to make sure the sentence is carried out, shoplifters must spend 8 hours over two days wearing the sign. This punishment is instead of going to jail for 30 days, but some who chose the sign said they wished they went to jail.
"It's embarrassing to them, and hopefully it alters their behavior for the future," said Miller.
Miller says the public humiliation also saves the county money.
"If they were to take the 30 days in jail, it would cost the county and the taxpayers 660 dollars," said Miller.
Miller says since he started the sign punishment, he's prosecuting fewer shoplifting cases.
