Penny Ante Crime (Trees And Things)

Lou: Get with the times

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:11:39 EST

Chopping off a hand is so old fashioned...so biblical there has to be a better way.

How about this: Give him a fine, say $50. Plus, give him the money to pay it. The twist? The money is at the bottom a fountain and

thefadd: Re: chop his hand off

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:54:29 EST

Good points. Without excusing Mujzer's actions, I'd also argue that no one really takes charitable solicitations through fountains seriously. People throwing pennies into wells and then fountains is an age old concept. You make a wish and toss the coin. Ar

songofthepogo: Re: chop his hand off

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:43:49 EST

that might explain the difference in our points of view of the situation as it is presented in the writeup. to me, the disparity between a fountain in a public park and a fountain in a shopping mall is not that great. granted, the mall is a pri

Lou: Worlds cleanest fountain

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:17:06 EST

If it was just an outside fountain with now signage, my guess is that any coins would be hoovered several times a day by homeless folks looking to buy food or homeowners trying to make the mortgage.

wetkarma: Re: chop his hand off

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:56:01 EST

Sure if it was in a public park, I'd view the case differently. Were the case in a public park, I'd see it as the equivalent of picking up a penny off the street. There's a difference between taking cash off the street and taking it out of my spare change

songofthepogo: Re: chop his hand off

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:00:54 EST

i'm curious to know if you'd feel any less strongly about it if, for example, the fountain were in a public park and had no signage indicating that coins were intended for charity.

wetkarma: Re: Wal Mart: 42c Not A Crime

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:24:18 EST

Indeed, prosecuting such an offense is very likely to be an economic waste of resources and walmart's (changed) strategy is based on that evaluation. No argument from me. However there is still 'method to the madness' of prosecuting crimes like say tossing

thefadd: Wal Mart: 42c Not A Crime

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:52:36 EST

Except that Wal-mart actually has a specific (although well hidden) corporate policy not to prosecute anyone who steals less than $25 worth of merchan

delete me: Re: Security systems

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:23:00 EST

Unfortunately, coin metal is poisonous to much aquatic life.

wetkarma: chop his hand off

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:45:19 EST

I'm having a hard time seeing how this is not a crime. The amount is not relevant to the issue of criminality. Mall management is merely taking a 'broken window' approach to crime enforcement. No one is outraged when wallmart prosecutes someone for s

MayorBob: Feeding Time At The Mall Would Be A Real Draw.

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:04:21 EST

Especially if they combined the piranha with a new policy on dealing with kids with saggy pants loitering at the mall.

Lou: Security systems

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:55:37 EST

consider something with a lock on it.

Or Piranhas.

songofthepogo: Re: Penny Ante Crime

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:45:51 EST

Mujzer was found by the fountain with the 42 cents on him.

were the coins wet? in the absence of information, i can't tell why they believe he stole them other than he was standing near the fountain and happened to have change on him.