Perhaps the most common use of shame regarding crime involves the
government or other officials shaming rule-breakers as a form of
punishment. The logic of rational choice theory [his link] suggests that threatened shame should increase the costs of crime and thus deter future crime.
Thus
shame gets added to a list of potential punishments, including prison
and fines that keep people from committing crime. A wide variety of
shame is used in criminal justice as a punishment. Arrestees have their
mug-shots published (and they are never flattering). Some communities
publish the names of men arrested as johns in prostitution stings.
There have even been attempts to require sex offenders to use a special
color license plate for their car.
Read the whole post.
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