Inmate's 'horrendous' tattoos erased
Fremantle tattooist Dayne Barber stepped behind prison bars for the first time yesterday to perform the unusual task of removing a "haunting" visual reminder of the violent past of a man serving a life sentence.
Mr Barber used skin-coloured ink to remove tattoos on the hands of the offender at Karnet prison farm.
Tattooing behind bars is banned by prison regulations and offenders who are caught can be punished. But the 37-year-old who went under Mr Barber's needle was granted an exemption from the rules after writing an emotional letter pleading for the intervention of Corrective Services Minister Joe Francis.
The prisoner, who has a violent, gang-related background, said the tattoos were a constant reminder of his offending and would be a barrier to him getting a job if he was granted his gradual release into the community.
The man has a statutory review of his life sentence scheduled next month. "He has got some tattoos that he is not proud of, they remind him of his crimes and they are clearly horrendous," Mr Francis said. "They are a constant visual reminder of his past that he is ashamed of."
Mr Francis said the offender, who he described as a model prisoner, would pay the $400 cost of removing the tattoos.
Mr Barber, who said his first prison visit was a little nerve-racking, said the session had gone well and had almost completely covered the man's tattoos.
