Dallas County Sheriff Mike Rackley said he hopes the new colour scheme, "Pepto-Bismol Pink", will have a calming effect on the inmates whose 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 told AFP."It's our hope that it will have the same effect on inmates."

He said 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 34 inmates, ranging from murderers to rapists to drug addicts and traffic violators, will be housed at the jail once its renovation is complete.

"I'm not necessarily a fan of the colour 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 behaviour in the public so we have to house them here to curb their behaviour.

"I'm sure the pink colour will have a calming effect on them."