Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the greatest American writers of the 19th century, would have felt right at home this week in Bedford County.

The author of "The Scarlet Letter" wrote brilliantly about private guilt and public shame. If he were still with us, Hawthorne would have recognized the scene Tuesday outside Bedford's courthouse square for what it was -- a sequel to his novel about sin in Puritan Boston.

In a deal reached with the district attorney's office, Evelyn Border, 56, and her daughter, Tina Griekspoor, 35, agreed to spend nearly five hours holding large signs in public that read: "I stole from a 9-year-old on her birthday! Don't steal or this could happen to you."

Both were arrested for trying to redeem two Walmart gift cards they claim they found at the store. The cards -- $50 and $30 -- belonged to a 9-year-old who misplaced them while shopping.

While some facts of the case are still in dispute -- like whether the women knew the cards belonged to the 9-year-old -- the public defender representing the defendants thought a few hours of humiliation instead of jail time too good a deal to pass up. In exchange for their guilty pleas, the DA will ask for probation.

Shaming criminals in the public square is as old as the Bible, but it is not an effective deterrent to crime. Public humiliation is about spectacle and revenge, not justice. It is moralistic without the virtue of being balanced, logical or proportional. That's why Hawthorne used it as a metaphor for larger injustices. He would have seen what happened in Bedford as more of the same.

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