I read this story, thought at first, how pathetic,stealing a 9 yr old's birthday gift card at Walmart. Then I looked where it happened: Bedford, PA. Why would they do this? Desperate? The poverty and near poverty rate (up to 200% over the poverty rate, the "working poor") is at least 1/3 of every rural county in pennsylvania, including my county, Butler County, which includes Slippery Rock Univ an institution that pays good professor salaries. That means Bedford must have more than 1/3 poor or working poor, I bet approaching 50%. What leads people to steal at a Walmart? Drugs - I dont know, stealing gift cards and shop lifting cant get you much drug money, unless you shoplift and then try to return purchases for cash. Stealing a girl's birthday gift card? No, I think poverty. Being dirt poor, having no hope, living in Bedford country, looking for a steady job, a full time job, with benefits, above minimum wage. Thats very hard. So these two women were humiliated for 4 1/2 hrs, instead of GOING TO PRISON. And the congressional bastards who take trips to Europe for "fact finding missions" and charge the american taxpayers arent also crooks. another estimate just released: 50% of all current children will be fed from food stamps at some time during their childhood. I think the Judge in this case is nuts: should have told the women to repay the child, apologize, and then get them set up for social services - do these women get food stamps? WIC coupons? housing vouchers? TANF payments? Are they disabled? so much is left out of this story. What happened to investigative journalism?
BEDFORD, Pa. -- A woman and her daughter are outside the Bedford County Courthouse holding signs saying they stole a gift card from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday.
Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins says in exchange for 56-year-old Evelyn Border and 35-year-old Tina Griekspoor, both of Bedford, agreeing to hold the signs, he'll ask for probation instead of jail when they plead guilty.
The signs read: "I stole from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday! Don't steal or this could happen to you!" The mother and daughter were to be outside the court for 4 1/2 hours, until 1:30 p.m.
Mr. Higgins says they swiped a gift card which the girl set on a shelf while a Wal-Mart employee helped her.
The girl's mother planned to drive by the courthouse to teach her daughter the importance of obeying the law.
1 comment:
I don't really care why they did it. Any reason they could give does not justify what they did.
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