Case 9 - More Than a Five-Fingered-Discount

"Fifteen years!" It was how long Winona had been shoplifting, but from the expression on her tear-streaked face, it might have been the length of her sentence.

Winona was 27, and this was her second arrest, if you didn't count the one as a juvenile. Three years earlier, she had been arrested, booked, and released on her own recognizance for walking out of a boutique with a silk blouse worth $150. Fortunately for her, two weeks later the shop fell victim to the recession; the owner, otherwise preoccupied, did not follow through with the prosecution. Badly frightened, she had resisted the temptation to shoplift for several months afterward.

Winona was married and had a four-year-old daughter. Her husband worked as a musician. After her previous arrest, he had threatened to divorce her and obtain custody of their child if she did it again. She worked an actress prior to being a homemaker. A conviction could doom her return to work.

"I don't know why I do it. I've asked myself that question a thousand times." Aside from stealing, Winona considered herself a pretty normal person. She had lots of friends and no enemies; most of the time she was quite happy. In every other respect she was law-abiding; she wouldn't even let her husband cheat when he prepared their taxes.

The first time Winona had ever stolen from a store was when she was six or seven, but that was on a dare from two school friends. When her mother found the candy she had taken from the convenience store, she had gone with Winona and made her return it to the store manager. It was years before she was tempted to steal again.

In junior high, she noticed that periodically a certain tension would build up inside her. it felt as if something deep within her pelvis itched and she couldn't scratch it. For several days she would feel increasingly restless, but with an excited sense of anticipation. Finally she would dart into whatever store she happened to be passing, whisk some article under her coat or into her handbag, and walk out, flooded with relief. For a time it seemed to be associated with her menstrual periods, but by the time she was 17, these episodes had becomoe completely random events.

"I don't know why I do it," Winona said again. "Of course, I don't like being caught. but I deserve to be. I've ruined my life and the lives of my family. Its not as if i needed another compact - I must have 15 of them at home."