June 08, 2007
Well, what do you know! Jail isn't fun!
So after 4 days in jail, Paris Hilton gets to go home due to "medical reasons." Though no one can say for sure what these medical reasons are (perhaps lack of a brain), speculation revolves around a staph infection that is running through the prison inmates. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't detention centers have medical wards? And don't they make antibiotics for staph infections? Not only that, if I remember from my microbiology days, staph is spread through contact with other people and things they've touched. Last I recalled, Hilton was in isolation from the rest of the detention community for 'her own saftey'.
Oh, don't worry everyone. She's still being punished. For the next 45 days, she is under house arrest (or should that be mansion arrest?) with an tracker strapped to her ankle. According to a spokesman for the LA Sheriff's Department, Paris has, "fulfilled her oblgation and paid her debt back to society."
OREALY?
The judge who sentenced Hilton doesn't seem to think so. Nor do several politicians or the prosecuting attorney who put her there or the hundreds of people emailing or calling the AP about this mess. Hilton was ordered back to the courts today to attend another hearing. Of course, this was inconvenient and Hilton requested a conference call from her home instead. The judge said, "Hell no. Get your ass in here now" and sent a police car to pick her up. (LOL)
But the lulz really come from the Sheriff who made the decision to set Hilton free. One of his more stellar comments:
"My message to those who don't like celebrities is that punishing celebrities more than the average American is not justice," Baca said.
Indeed, Sheriff Lee Baca (what an appropriate name. Baka in Japanese means stupid or idiot). Because every day, thousands of not rich, non famous, non cooter flashing Americans are set set free from jail for 'minor' infractions such as drunk driving. They shed a few tears, claim they have the vapors, say they're sorry, and some understanding, compassionate police man such as yourself lets them go home with an ankle bracelet.
Someone fire this guy. And while their doing that, throw Hilton back into the clink. Preferably with the other prisoners.
EDIT!
Paris goes back to jail. After watching the news and this entire circus unfold, I'm just disgusted that this is even an issue. She. Commited. A. Crime. Not once, not twice, but three times. And this was a crime that put the lives of innocent people in danger. I have no sympathy for Hilton.
Baca's referral to Hilton's "medical condition" just makes me ill. How many people are in our prison system suffer from illness? Illnesses like AIDS, cancer, diabetes, etc? And how many of people in our prison system suffer from severe psychiatric illness--and no one gives a shit about them? The only illness Hilton suffers from is "Spoiled little girl not getting her way". That's it. All this ominous talk about suicide watch and crap, give me a break. If she chooses to string herself up over a 45 day jail sentence that SHE brought on herself, I won't shed any tears. Maybe that will keep her off streets the next time she gets behind the wheel after drinking herself silly. This could've been much worse. She could've killed someone. Do the crime, pay the time.
So, STFU Paris.
This is funny:
Posted by Zoso at June 8, 2007 10:43 AMSend that bitch back to the slammer. It never fails to piss me off when celebs get off easier for their crimes. Seriously, 45 days in jail for drunk driving is nothing. Were it an ordinary citizen... I think that having different sentences for people just because they are 'popular' is total bull. She fucked up, she deserves to pay for it. You don't see them sending anyone else home for the staph infection, why just her? I know that house arrest wouldn't be that bad, especially if you had a monster mansion. (If you can't tell I hate Paris Hilton. I believe that she is a spoilt little prick that has never had to work for anything in her life.) Our judicial system shouldn't change your sentence based on who you are; it makes the system obsolete. Send her back to jail!
Posted by: Mia at June 8, 2007 12:18 PMLooks like she's going back to jail. The impression I got is that the original judge wasn't happy to have the Sheriff's Dept. overrule him.
Anyhow, I'm kind of surprised at Baca, who has usually seemed like a straight-shooter. I'm a bit surprised that he went along with this in the first place...
- Jeff
Posted by: Jeff at June 8, 2007 02:15 PMI've been listening to Baca's press conference and he's just digging himself a deeper hole. All this crap about "We didn't know what her medication was. The doctors never told us so we sent her home" is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard.
He obviously made a mistake. Now he's trying to squirm out if, and he just looks like a stupid ass. And all this talk about how she's being treated differently because she's famous...that's the entire point! The sheriff's department gave her special treatment because of who she was--end of story.
What really rankles me is when she was released, in that small amount of time she went home and started scheduling a party. Is this the action of someone who is taking her situation seriously?
Posted by: Zoso at June 8, 2007 04:06 PMI'm no Paris fan, but her being released early really isn't special treatment - it's rather normal unfortunately.
Jail overcrowding is a serious problem. People are released from jail every day because of it. Not just Paris Hilton. And all this business about her "special ward" doesn't make much difference. A lot of people need "special" cells. Child Molestors. High profile people. Snitches. Gang Members...so on and so forth. A cell, is a cell.
And frankly, if I have my druthers about it, I'd rather they let Paris Hilton out than say a known gang member who got caught up on a possesion charge, or whatever.
Posted by: sarah at June 8, 2007 08:29 PMWhile I understand the jail overcrowding deal, that wasn't the reason she was sent home. The Sheriff said multiple times it was because of a medical reason. If she was so distraught, like several lawyers have brought up, why was she not sent to a medical facility instead? They do have those things to deal with situations like that, don't they?
Also, I find the 'over crowding' claim to be a bit suspicious. If this detention center was so over crowded, why was it just Paris that was sent home? Why not the dozen or so people who were busted smoking a joint? Or the other dozen being held for petty theft? They are non violent offenders. What makes them so different than Paris Hilton? And as others pointed out, this wasn't her first offense. It was her third--and her crime was drunk driving (twice) and driving on a suspended license. She's proven to the legal system that she has no care about our laws or other people's saftey. I'd rather see Joe Blow who was busted for smoking a doobie on a park bench get sent home than someone who seems to think driving while intoxicated is a big joke.
I will agree with your gang member comment, but I have a hard time believing that the detention center population consisted of just Paris and a bunch of gang members.
Posted by: zoso at June 8, 2007 09:11 PMI admit her medical claim is a bit lame, lots of people in prison are sick. No - medical care in prison isn't fantastic, it's free. But you get what you pay for.
Which is why today I had a tb test at the office and we all keep clorox wipes and hospital disinfectant at our desks.
As for jail over-crowding - I promise you that a few dozen people did get released, probably that very same day. But it's not news because they aren't famous and it happens every day of the week.
As for DUI vs. Doobie - that's over simplifying the matter. It's more like rapist vs. paris hilton...guy who rammed his wife into the side of an apartment with a truck or...paris hilton....Child molestor...paris hilton...
Quite frankly, Paris hilton, every other DUI'er, and everyone who wants to snort whatever can go home on EHD if it means keeping those other people in jail.
The better idea would be for tax payers to cough up the money for more prisons if they insist on being so obsessed with what other people are putting up their noses.
Posted by: sarah at June 12, 2007 07:09 PM