According to a story reported by KLFY TV in Lafayette, the sheriff of Iberia Parish has come up with an inventive way to deal with unruly prisoners. He simply has them trade in their normal orange coverall for a pretty pink one and then transfers them to a special cell block with pink-painted walls. His hope, of course, is that the embarrassment suffered by these hardened criminals will discourage unacceptable behavior.

The strategy is a gamble, for sure, but the sheriff has a backup plan. “If, after being subjected to this humiliation, they continue to violate the rules, then we have no choice but to resort to more extreme measures.” The sheriff refused to elaborate on what these further measures are, but a source inside the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s office, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that these included making up the inmates’ beds with Barbie-printed sheets and making them watch Hannah Montana videos.

Some prisoner-rights advocates are protesting these policies as “cruel and unusual punishment”. Some are suggesting that the moves may backfire and possibly even incite a riot. When pressed about this, the Sheriff admitted, “Well, we did have to break up a couple of pillow fights last week.”