The Return of Shame

A couple of months ago I agreed (in principle if not every detail) with this lady's practice of publicizing married men who were soliciting her for sex on an adult dating service. This practice is similar:

Images of men convicted of soliciting prostitutes will soon be joining professional athletes and product placements on city billboards here.

Beginning this month, some billboards will be updated to show the photos of "johns" - men convicted of soliciting sex - with the headline "How Much Clearer Can We Make It?"

The measure is part of a "shaming campaign" to crack down on prostitution.

"We're warning everyone: Next time, the image won't be blurred," City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente said at a news conference Wednesday, where city officials stood under a 10-by-22-foot billboard with the images of four convicted men intentionally blurred so they could not be recognized.

The billboards will only show the images of those convicted of soliciting sex, De La Fuente said. Most persons arrested for soliciting sex - a misdemeanor - ultimately plead guilty to a lesser infraction of disturbing the peace and serve little, if any jail time.

Well, that last bit seems a little wimpy, but it's a step in the right direction.
(Via La Shawn Barber)