The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections ("DOC") has spent $60,000 to buy 42 "paint-ball" guns. That's over $1,400.00 apiece. They're worth about a tenth of that, $140 or less. But the best part of the story is that these gas-powered toys don't fire paintballs, they shoot "pepperballs," a potent charge of the caustic and toxic chemical capsaicin. The idea is that a guard blasts some naked prisoner in the face, genitals or torso with a "pepperball" fired from close range. After tearing open the victim's flesh, it explodes into an oily, clinging liquid which burns like fire. Very civilized! About what you'd expect from the DOC. The DOC's cover story is that the "pepperballs" are less deadly that bullets, which is what they would most like to use. Boy, is that reasoning a smoke screen. Firearms are much less likely to be abused by guards than "non-lethal" devices. Using firearms against prisoners might provoke an outcry and criticism. Not so with "pepperballs." Guards will easily get away with using the chemicals against prisoners for sport, spite and entertainment. The stun guns and stun shields are already used as toys by the sadistic guards who stalk the prison holes. Pepperballs will be just another torture device.