No one was hurt over a console to get in the
headline pictured, but an interesting question is being raised over what level of entertainment convicted
criminals should be afforded behind bars.Wayne O'Donoghue was convicted of manslaughter of an 11-year-old boy (with no involvement from video games), but last Friday's Irish Sun tabloid used the moniker "PlayStation Killer" to underscore the console upgrade O'Donoghue and his cell mates would be receiving in the form of PS2s over older PlayStation models used in the prison until now. Prison officers are apparently "up to their eyes in games consoles."
Too bad all that extra hardware can't be used to teach kids in Northern Ireland about peace and reconciliation, or help kids in West Virginia get into shape. Hopefully those old PlayStations will find a good home. We're just left to wonder whether depriving convicts of the current generation of games constitutes cruel and unusual punishment or not. Is access to a PS2 a basic right even for criminals?
[Thanks, JaSoN!]
