TROY, Ohio  —  Inmates at the Miami County Jail in Troy are under orders to paint the cellblocks pink to test the sheriff's theory that the color will have a pacifying affect on prisoners.

Sheriff Charles Cox says he's entering the academic debate over the color pink's calming abilities.

Jail administrator Dee Sandy says the first time the sheriff mentioned the concept to her, she thought he was joking. Not so. She ended up picking a shade of purple for the jail bars.

Previously, the jail's walls were cream-colored and the bars were painted blue.

The jail, about 20 miles north of Dayton, houses up to 111 inmates.