- Joined
- Jan 27, 2007
- Messages
- 6,518
Man, sorry to hear about this.
I hate thieves. Thieving is one of the most dishonorable acts a human being can commit; the biggest issue is that a thief simply doesn't know the value of what he/she takes.
My grandfather was a counselor at McNiel Island [medium security] Pen back in the 50's & 60's. The convicts came up with some very 'creative' ways of dealing with thieves. Now, a thief would normally get the living daylights pounded out of him; at least one near-killing occurred while my granddad was assigned there, apparently over theft. (A convict almost drowned another in a toilet.)
Other things happened too, like making sure a thief's blankets were either cut up, or disappeared for weeks at a time. Blankets & linens were numbered & issued; if they were missing, you didn't get another - I'm sure that sucked in winter.
A thief's laundry wouldn't get done, and/or wouldn't be returned; or everything but socks would be returned. Apparently the place got COLD. Socks were coveted items.
Cons would drop hints with the guards, and contraband (shop tools, silverware from the mess hall, etc.) would be 'conveniently' placed in a thief's cell the night the guards tossed it ('tossing' was an unannounced, unscheduled cell inspection, carried out at random.) The resulting isolation time, loss of privileges, and other punishments were quite effective at getting people's attention.
There were worse things, too. Generally, things were done that slowly eroded the thief's sanity until he either stopped thieving, or went loopy and got transferred to another facility.
I always think back to those stories whenever I hear about burglaries, smash & grabs, etc. Sooner or later the thieves get what's coming to them. Whoever took your kukri will pay for it, sooner or later.
~Chris
I hate thieves. Thieving is one of the most dishonorable acts a human being can commit; the biggest issue is that a thief simply doesn't know the value of what he/she takes.
My grandfather was a counselor at McNiel Island [medium security] Pen back in the 50's & 60's. The convicts came up with some very 'creative' ways of dealing with thieves. Now, a thief would normally get the living daylights pounded out of him; at least one near-killing occurred while my granddad was assigned there, apparently over theft. (A convict almost drowned another in a toilet.)
Other things happened too, like making sure a thief's blankets were either cut up, or disappeared for weeks at a time. Blankets & linens were numbered & issued; if they were missing, you didn't get another - I'm sure that sucked in winter.
A thief's laundry wouldn't get done, and/or wouldn't be returned; or everything but socks would be returned. Apparently the place got COLD. Socks were coveted items.
Cons would drop hints with the guards, and contraband (shop tools, silverware from the mess hall, etc.) would be 'conveniently' placed in a thief's cell the night the guards tossed it ('tossing' was an unannounced, unscheduled cell inspection, carried out at random.) The resulting isolation time, loss of privileges, and other punishments were quite effective at getting people's attention.
There were worse things, too. Generally, things were done that slowly eroded the thief's sanity until he either stopped thieving, or went loopy and got transferred to another facility.
I always think back to those stories whenever I hear about burglaries, smash & grabs, etc. Sooner or later the thieves get what's coming to them. Whoever took your kukri will pay for it, sooner or later.
~Chris
