Public Shaming Essay

While we have moved on from the dunce hats in schools, and stock holds of puritan life, some are trying to reimplement the use of public shaming. But does it really have a place in our society today? Political figures like Jed Bush feel humiliation is the way to handle unwed mothers, and parents believe it would be an effective way to reprimand their misbehaving children. Additionally, some courts are trying to include shame as a criminal sentence. However, in the court systems, the ambiguous term can result in unusual or unfair sentencing amongst judges, as there are no clear guidelines being used. Furthermore, criminals should not be empowered to decide their own punishment, even in the case of minor infractions. In the case of parenting, public humiliation can be damaging to a child’s mental state as well as to their relationship with their parents. Although their motives are to better society, public shaming is an ineffective and unfair punishment for …show more content…
Due to its ambiguity, what is considered shameful is at the judges discretion.This in turn could result in, “widely and unfairly different punishments for the same crime between owe courtroom to the next” (Morrison). In one case an Ohio woman was sentenced to spend a night alone in the woods after abandoning thirty-three kittens. A more extreme case reports that when a pregnant woman was convicted of child abuse the judge gave her the option of taking a birth control device for five years in lieu of prison (Morrison). Many were appalled by the audacity of the judges to even offer such a sentencing but no regulations were there to stop him from doing so. Public shaming should not be used as a loop hole for judges to fabricate their own punishments nor should public shaming be used in an court system at all. These judges are neglecting sentencing guidelines, taking their power too far and violating the 8th amendment that bans cruel and unusual