Man sentenced to stupidity

A Wisconsin man has avoided jail after a judge ordered him to instead stand outside a waste water treatment plant holding a sign saying 'I was stupid'.

Shane McQuillan of Eau Claire County was found guilty of criminal damage after he drunkenly rammed his car into a closed gate at the plant.

At the time of the incident last March, he told a police officer that he was 'just being stupid.'

Sentencing him on Wednesday, Judge Paul Lenz took him at his word, and gave him two options – jail time, or the humiliation of standing outside the plant holding the 'I was stupid' sign.

McQuillan chose the 'stupid' option.