Inmates who set fire last month to a jail in the US state of Missouri, located in the central part of the US, are in for a big surprise when they return to the refurbished facility: authorities have painted it pink.
Dallas County Sheriff Mike Rackley said that he hopes the new color scheme — which he described as "Pepto-Bismol Pink"— will have a calming effect on the inmates. All of their cells will also feature blue teddy bears painted on the walls.
"There were several studies done by some universities and they have determined that pink is a soothing color," Rackley said. "It is our hope that it will have the same effect on the inmates."
PHOTO: AP
He said that so far eight inmates have been returned to the facility, located in a rural region, and their only reaction was: "Now that is pink."
Rackley said a total of 34 inmates, ranging from murderers to rapists to drug addicts and traffic violators, will be housed at the jail once the renovation has been completely finished.
"I'm not necessarily a fan of the color pink, but we'll utilize anything that has been shown to work," he said. "We are a day care for adults and basically; they are unable to curb their behavior in public so we have to house them here to curb their behavior. I'm sure the pink color will have a calming effect on them." (AFP)
美國中部密蘇里州一座監獄的受刑人上個月在獄中縱火。他們返回整修過的監獄時，將會大吃一驚了︰主管機關把監獄漆成粉紅色。
達拉斯郡警長邁可．雷克利表示，他希望自己形容為「粉紅良藥」的新顏色策略有安撫受刑人的功效。所有囚室牆壁也會漆上藍色泰迪熊。（註︰Pepto-Bismol 是美國暢銷的腸胃藥品牌，藥品與包裝均為粉紅色。）
「幾所大學的研究已證實粉紅色是安定人心的顏色，」雷克利說︰「我們希望它對受刑人也有相同功效。」
他表示，目前已有八位受刑人返回位於鄉間的監獄，他們反應一致︰「現在變粉紅色了。」
雷克利說，一旦整修工作完成，總計有三十四位從殺人犯、強暴犯、毒癮者到走私犯的受刑人將被安置獄中。
「我並非粉紅色迷，不過我會利用任何有效的東西，」他說︰「我們是成年人的養護機構，基本上他們無法約束自己在公領域的行為，所以我們必須在這裡安置他們，以約束他們的行為。我相信粉紅色有讓他們平靜的功效。」 （美聯社/翻譯：賴美君）
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