Apparently, there's been some argument, in the United Kingdom, over how transsexual convicts should be handled in the prison system. Enough to elicit a new mandate from the Ministry of Justice, even.

Yes, orders have come down from on high telling prison staff they must now give special treatment to transsexual convicts by giving them access to whatever they deem necessary to express the gender with which they identify. This includes, but is not limited to, prostheses, padded bras, and makeup. Which in and of itself is probably a pretty cool thing. But when you see statements such as this one, “Unlike other male prisoners, transsexuals will not be expected to wear prison uniform if they are punished by being moved to the basic privileges regime,” you start to wonder if they're not taking things a bit too far.

We're pretty sure the goal is to allow prisoners the right to be who they are mentally and emotionally, and that is awesome. We're acknowledging that convicts are human, of course. But we're not altogether convinced allowing them rights that not even their cisgender counterparts are allowed is going to get the response the ministry is hoping for. Or maybe it is? What do you think?