“The disrespect he gets from his own community would serve as a disincentive for him and his friends in the future. “
I wish that were true. If this young man had a community which valued civic responsibility and personal achievement none of this would have happened.
Put this kid in the stocks and within an hour he would be a hero with his own reality show, and whoever had put him there would be out of a job.
Were stocks commonly used around America in the late 1700’s?
If so, then they would not be considered ‘Cruel & Unusual’...................