Pink jail

MASON, Texas -- The sheriff of Mason County, Texas, has estimated that repeat crime is down 70 percent since he bought pink jumpsuits for prisoners in the county jail.

Sheriff Clint Low said he bought the jumpsuits and had the inside of the jail painted pink shortly after taking office in 2005 to act as a deterrent against repeat offenders, ABC News reported Wednesday.

"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."

Low told ABC there have been no fights between prisoners since the jumpsuits were adopted.

He said the move is a low-cost step to attempt to deter crime in a county with an aging jail.

"The problem is we need a new jail," he said. "I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. If the jail commission comes in and closes the jail, I'm the sheriff that got the jail closed. If we build a new jail, I'm the sheriff that raised taxes."