At the Mason County, Texas jail inmates wear pink jumpsuits, pink slippers, and make their beds in pink linens. All the cells, including the bars, are painted pink. Painting walls pink has been known to calm aggression, but that isn't the whole point of sheriff Clint Low's think pink policy at his cramped jail, which only holds five inmates. From the Associated Press:
Low got the idea of pink jumpsuits from a sheriff in Arizona, Joe Arpaio, who bought pink boxers to keep inmates from stealing the underwear and other clothing. In Mason, Low dyed the jumpsuits and slippers pink, and the color later bled to sheets, underwear and other articles during washings.
Low, who was a deputy in Mason before being elected sheriff, estimated the re-offense rate in the county is down 70 percent since he switched to pink jumpsuits for the inmates. He also said there have been no fights between inmates in the jail since it was painted.
"I wanted to stop re-offenders," Low said. "They don't want to wear them. Working inmates get a choice to work outside or sit inside, and some choose to sit inside because they don't want people to see them. They would rather stay upstairs."
