Lej:

Your story of the rewarding of criminals by process of law just sends shivers down my spine. The man built a mailbox, and he had to pay someone for trying to destroy his property!! I am incensed when I hear such tales; the grotesque irreposibility is bad enough, but blessing it under American law is enough to turn my stomach sometimes.

As to the pillory, I think it would be knocked down as cruel and unusual punishment under the Consittution, or something like that, if anyone tried to float the idea at the State or Federal. 'Course you could argue that making it anact of law thereby establishes it as "usual". Maybe we should go for the Iron Maiden or the Procrustean bed, and then just _settle_ for stocks,

A