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Anorak News | Wal-Mart, Thieves And Rotten Tomatoes

Wal-Mart, Thieves And Rotten Tomatoes

by | 8th, May 2007

shoplifter.jpg“I AM A THIEF I STOLE FROM WALMART.”

On reading that, readers half expect to hear another voice pop up to declare: “No. I am a thief I stole from Walmart”. Like a version of TV’s Tell The Truth, Walmart store detectives will be invited to spot the genuine shoplifter from the bevy of contestants.

But today there is only one agonist.

As the Express reports, her name is Lisa King Fithian. She’s 46. And she is spending four hours of two successive Saturdays standing outside the Wal-Mart Supercenter, Attalla City, Alabama, wearing a sign proclaiming her guilt.

It was Fithian’s lot to steal an item worth less than £5, says the Express. The paper fails to tell us what this item is. And in searching for an answer, we note that over at CNN, the item is priced at $7.

British shoplifters looking to head to the US for bargains, and take advantage of the $2 to £1 exchange rate, may reconsider in the light of the Express’s calculations.

And then there is the chance of capture. You might come before Judge Kenneth Robertson Jr,, who will offer you a 60-day jail sentence or the chance to wear the sandwich board of shame.

You will then meet with store manger Neil Hawkins. He tells us: “The only comments we’ve heard so far have been positive. Mot of them thought this was a good thing… Maybe they’ll think twice about doing it.”

Mr Hawkins is over-analysing the matter. He assumes shoplifters think at all. In our experience the theft of small items is a spur of the moment decision, triggered by hunger, desperation, whimsy or dare.

It would be interesting to see if treating thieves to a dose of public humiliation works. Or if the practice remains unchecked, the theft continue and Ms Fithian makes off with two pieces of white card ($10) and more rotten tomatoes than you can stuff into your bra…



Posted: 8th, May 2007 | In: Tabloids Comments (4) | TrackBack | Permalink