This & That, Ceci et Cela

Good news for inmates who aren’t already tattooed: Canadian prisons are opening tattoo parlours.

The government has opened tattoo parlours in federal prisons and is looking at handing out clean needles to inmates who inject drugs. For $5, federal prisoners can now get their favourite design or phrase — but nothing racist or gang-related — etched into their skin by a fellow inmate. The project is the first of its kind in Canada and believed by some to be the only one in the world.

Why should prisoners be given essentially free tattoos, when others have to pay much more for the same service? Inmates already receive free cable TV, are allowed to order delivery pizza, etc. Prison = punishment, not pampering, no?