After I heard the news of the recent death of a Mullins South Carolina woman, Dorina Williams, who was the allegedly caught shoplifting at the Conway Wal-Mart, I decided to do a quick Google search for the story. I thought the story would come right up, but much to my surprise I had to weed through many other stories of Wal-Mart shoplifters who died at the hands of Wal-Mart employees! You may want to think twice before you attempt to shoplift at your friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart where apparently “you steal, you die”!

I’m not quite sure who is the bigger F*CK'N LOSER in this, Wal-Mart, or the shoplifters, you be the judge.

According to one story, an alleged Wal-Mart shoplifter in Atlanta died after being tackled by two security guards and a fellow customer in December of 2009. According to an Atlanta Police spokesman, "It was basically a big pile-up. They had him pinned on the ground to keep him from running. When police got to the scene they found two bystanders attempting to revive the man with CPR, but they were not able to revive him. He was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to Northside Hospital.” In another story, in September 2009, Yu Xiachun, a 37-year-old woman, died 500 yards from the Wal-Mart store in Jiangxi province.

According a local police spokesman, “Yu had exited the store and was on her way home on August 30th when she was surrounded by five Wal-Mart workers, who accused her of shoplifting. The Wal-Mart workers asked Yu to show them her receipt, which she did. Then Yu, concerned that none of the Wal-Mart workers were wearing a Wal-Mart uniform, asked for her receipts back. The Wal-Mart workers then began to fight with Yu, knocking her to the ground. She was taken to the hospital, where she died three days later.” The police have arrested two of the young Wal-Mart workers who fought with Yu but I am not sure if any charges were pressed against them.

I found yet another story! In August of 2005, a 30 year old man named Stacy Driver suffered a fatal heart attack while lying face down in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Houston, Texas. Driver, a master carpenter and the father of a two-year-old son, was pinned down on the scorching pavement by many Wal-Mart employees who accused him of stealing a package of diapers, a pair of sunglasses, a BB gun, and a package of BBs. According to a local paramedic "When we got there, the man was facedown and in cardiac arrest with handcuffs behind his back. About 30 people were saying, 'Let him up, it's too hot,' Another employee brought a rug for Driver to lie on, but one of those holding Driver said he was fine where he was. One eyewitness stated, "After about five minutes, Driver said, 'I'm dying, I can't breathe, call an ambulance.'" The eyewitness said that after the Wal-Mart employees handcuffed Driver, one employee pushed his knee in the alleged shoplifter’s neck while his co-workers put pressure on his back. "Finally the guy stopped moving" and the employees got off him. They wouldn't call an ambulance. "I looked at him and said, 'Hey, he's not breathing,' but one guy told me Driver was just on drugs. I told them his fingernails were all gray, and finally they called an ambulance."

I finally found the most recent story about Dorina Williams, an asthma sufferer who died after allegedly being choked by Wal-Mart security who accused her of shoplifting. According to South Carolina police spokeswoman Catina Hipps, “Wal-Mart employees were trying to stop two shoplifting suspects when a fight broke out. One of the suspects collapsed at the scene and was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.” Horry County Deputy Coroner Tony Hendrick stated, “41-year-old Dorina Williams of Nichols appears to have died from natural causes, but the official cause of death is still pending.” According to Williams' 16-year-old daughter Myiesha Williams, "She said, 'Hold on, I'll give you my bag,' and he just started choking her," Williams said about the confrontation between her mother and one of the store employees. "He wouldn't let her go. I told them, 'She can't breathe, she can't breathe,' and they wouldn't listen. They wouldn't."

Scary, stuff! I am going to Wal-Mart today, should I be concerned? What if my shopping raises suspicions in the eyes of Wal-Mart security? The funny thing is, here on the West Coast they do not even ask you to show your receipt at the door of Wal-Mart! I don’t know if Wal-Mart needs to have some sensitivity and diversity workshops to help them deal with these situations more effectively (where no one is actually killed!) Bottom line, don’t shoplift anywhere but especially don’t shoplift at Wal-Mart! It could literally kill you! Is it really worth it?