Teen Thief Sentenced to Humiliation

(Painesville, OH) Jeremy T. Sherwood, 18, of Chatham Drive, was caught stealing smut videos from the Popular and Adult Video store and charged with first degree misdemeanor theft. During sentencing, Judge Michael A. Cicconetti of Painesville Municipal Court offered Sherwood the option of 30 days in jail with 12 months' probation OR four hours wearing a blindfold and holding a sign reading "See No Evil" mere feet from a busy Route 20 and across the street from the store from which he was convicted of stealing. Sherwood chose the latter.

His eyes covered by a folded Rebel flag do-rag, Sherwood sat in a camp chair, wore a baseball cap and listened to Third Eye Blind and rap on his headphones.

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"This is a lot better than sitting in jail," Sherwood said. "You've got a nice comfortable chair, beautiful weather, music ... you just chill back."

In the past, Judge Cicconetti has garnered considerable publicity from his innovative alternative sentencing, so this episode is not unusual. However, it does appear to be quite lenient. Sherwood is an 18-year-old high school dropout and, now, a convicted thief who seems to enjoy his punishment.

I have the nagging feeling that a stint in a cold concrete cell would have been much less enjoyable and more likely to deter future criminal acts than humiliation. Humiliation tends to make a person angry, not law-abiding.