A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:I am a twenty three year old female, I got caught for shoplifting yesterday and now I have to go to court. I am very scared, I've never been to court before or in the legal system at all. I didn't have any money and my daughter needed formula.Does anyone know what might happen or if I'm gonna go to jail? Please, I am so scared, my kids are my life and I know it was wrong and that I shouldn't have done it, but I didn't know what else to do.
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male
reader, no nonsense Aidan  +, writes (29 July 2012):
Whilst I’m not familiar with your legal system, I can tell you that in the UK you could be confident that a first-time offender who shop lifted such a small amount would almost certainly not receive a prison sentence. It’s doubtful that you would either, especially if you follow the advice of the previous posters and admit to what you did and explain the circumstances. Most importantly, the judge will be thinking about whether you are likely to do it again or not, so you need to make it clear that you are sorry. If he thinks you don’t care about stealing, he might punish you more harshly to deter you from offending again. That’s the purpose of punishment: if people won’t avoid doing things because they’re wrong, you need to make them fear the consequences of doing those things instead. So, lots of humble pie and you should be absolutely fine. You should, however, explore ways to improve your financial situation: are there social security payments you could be receiving that you currently aren’t, can family or the child’s father help out? Do you need to budget better? You can put this incident behind you but are these desperate circumstances likely to arise again? The reality is that if you’re caught a second time, things will get a lot worse for you, so it’s urgent that you review your financial situation and don’t be too proud to ask for help.
I wish you all the very best.
A
female
reader, katiekate +, writes (29 July 2012):
 There is a program for people who need help providing for their children. It is called WIC (women, infants, and children). They give you vouchers for free formula, milk, cereal, baby food, cheese, etc. Get the help that is available to you. There is no shame in that. I used WIC 10 years ago for my baby. Got 10 big cans of formula each month for free. Good luck to you.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (29 July 2012): It's not as bad as you think hun.Im sure if youre honest about this to the judge, and do not lie and admit the theft you will get off alot more lightly than you would to lie. so stick to the truth.It was a moment of desperation, the simple fact you got caught on the off shows that your an amatuer thief, hense this isnt something you do often enough to be more cautious to do!The main thing in the forefront of your mind, the reasons for your actions, is that your a good parent and would go to the ends of the earth , all the trouble, all the hassle just to feed your baby.I am sure you will get a slap on the wrist and maybe even a small fine.The worst outcome from this is shame on you.And im a parent, id take all the shame in the world over my actions if it was solely for my kids.
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