You got me thinking - it would be 'cruel&unusual' and invoke flashbacks to barbaric times, but a '3-strikes' policy that would put a permenent, visible brand "i'm a thief" or "i'm a con-man" would probably deter opportunities future crimes.

It's not humane and it restricts liberty - but it's more humane and less liberty-restricting than the corrent "solution" of permanent imprisonment.