Paris Hilton was released from jail Thursday — nearly three weeks ahead of schedule. The move sparked an outcry from some elected officials and the City Attorney’s Office, who questioned whether Hilton was receiving preferential treatment.
“This incident with Paris Hilton is just the most recent that highlights the problems our criminal justice system has with making sure sentences stick, whether it is in a county jail or under electronic monitoring,” county Supervisor Don Knabe said. “Length of punishment belongs in the hands of our judges and when a judge imposes a sentence, that sentence needs to stick.”
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said the decision to release Hilton after just more than 72 hours of incarceration was made after “extensive consultation” with medical personnel, but he refused to elaborate.
The judge has ordered Paris Hilton returned to jail, and she was taken from court screaming.
#56, Cheese, John, I was only expressing my contempt for someone who is so wealthy that she apparently was able to circumvent the judicial system by a means not available to most of us “common folk.” Whether her sentence was appropriate or not is not relevant to the basis for my outrageous opinion, it’s just the perceived difference (right or wrong) between the “haves” and “have nots.”
Yes, I’m cranky about the whole stinkin’ mess and somewhat ashamed to be contributing to this garbage celebrity gossip. Isn’t that what this blog is all about? Apologies if you’re offended by my outrageous opinion.
Maybe Conan O’Brien said it best, “You’re only excused from going to prison in LA if you’re on trial for murder.”
Right and just?
She has repeatedly shown disregard for her breaking of laws…showing up late for court hearings, essentially a feeling of her being above the law.
And please, John, let’s not be overdramatic here…she’s going to essentially a resort…she has no cell mate, is not doing time with hard criminals.
Why is it considered heartless for those who continually break the laws and endanger those around them to be held responsible? Would you, John, be as lenient if this was some random Joe? I doubt it…but because its a celebrity, you feel the need to defend her?
#30 – I’m interested to hear what the dangers of drunk telescoping are. Then again, maybe I’m better off not knowing.
[off topic, thank goodness]
Bottom line – I’m for LESS government and MORE personal responsibility. And LESS knee-jerk emotional responses.
Comment by BertDawg — 6/8/2007 @ 8:26 pm
Darn, that just makes too much sense to ever happen here. And if you’ve great situational awareness, why not go take that first flying lesson? You might just get hooked. The skies aren’t full of morani.
#65, 7, I’m interested to hear what the dangers of drunk telescoping are
Intoxicated astronomers at the controls of a large computer controlled telescope can cause damage, injury, even death in extreme circumstances. I’ve had to repair damage caused by moran students at the University of Dallas more than once, they manage to bypass all the safeties to allow viewing into the women’s dorms.
Still, a Guinness or two on the weekend just might enhance visual acuity enough to have some great fun at the eyepiece of a small scope. That has been known to happen occasionally, but just for astronomical purposes, you understand. 🙂
Just think, Paris could have avoided all this drama and negative publicity if she only would have (1) enrolled in the alcohol abuse program that her parole required, and (2) engaged the chauffeuring services of one of her assistants or a professional driver while her own license was suspended.
After many years of therapy, she may eventually come to view this ordeal as having been partly her own fault.
I’m with ya all the way, John C.
How about a little fuckin’ perspective here, ppl? What I’ve been reading so far here has been mostly (a) class resentment of the rich, being taken out on Paris because she had the insufferable gall to pick wealthy parents to be born to, and (b) an unhealthy dose of thinly-veiled misogyny.
Like the man said, she didn’t kill anyone – shit, she’s simply another one out of millions of spoiled, irresponsible kids. She’s a ditzy, overprivileged society girl, not the fuckin’ Devil Incarnate, like some of you obviously think. From some of your comments, one would get the idea she was out there mowing down little old ladies and throwing her empty Cristal bottles at her victims!
She fucked off, and she got the sentence she deserved. Maybe it’s not Devil’s Island or the Gulag, but for her it’s pretty goddamn traumatic – which is a good thing. Like I’ve said before, after even 3 weeks inside, she’ll’ve had time to think a lot about real life, and there’s a decent chance she’ll actually learn the lesson that her sentence is intended to teach her. I’m betting she’ll grow up more in the next month than she has in the last 10 years, and come out a better person.
Taking out your hatred of the wealthy on her is a bit much. You want money, stupidity, irresponsibility + dimwit arrogance? That sleazy cunt Lindsay Lohan is all the things you accuse Paris H of being. Now there’s someone who could use 6 months, followed by boot camp. Why not save the venom for more worthy targets?
* * * * * * * * * * *
bobbo, Thomas – and especially BertDawg
At least you guys understand putting calm reason before lynch mob hysteria, so thanks…
It’s truly a sad state of affairs, in my book, when otherwise literate, educated Westerners are oblivious to the bright line that seperates foolish indifference to the consequences of ones actions, i.e. negligence, from consciously deciding to deliberately harm someone else, i.e., intent.
Who actually drinks that sixth (or sixteenth) beer and sets it down and heads for their car thinking “Well, it’s getting late, guess I need to hurry up and get out there on the road and take someone’s life in a fiery crash.” For fuck’s sake, what idiocy. Alcohol blinds one to the fact that their sense are dulled. People who know this when sober forget it when drunk, which is the entire problem. But it does not equate morally with deciding to kill someone. That is not intended, and murder is the act of intentionally killing.
I mean – get a grip, fer X’s sake.
56. JCD: “Did she kill anyone?”
So, in your world 45 days jail time would be appropriate for a wrongful death?
Or is it more in line with someone with Hilton’s record:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3258489&page=1
I think reasonable people couldn’t even contemplate disregarding a judges instructions to not drive. What would the insurance implications be of a terrible accident involving a suspended license anyway?
Twice she had her chance for a cushy punishment. Your 60 days of pool parties clearly would not make any further impression.
I get to watch a brain-damaged boy hobble up and down my street nearly every day, the handy-work of a drunk driver. His buddy was killed. They planted a tree for him where the driver struck their bicycles. Bet you that driver never killed anyone before that either.
RBG
#47…Fusion….I agree with you completely. In fact, the gun anology was what I was going to use, then read your post.
#57..John D…..Nothing *heartless* going on here, just some people expressing their opinions….opinions that say why should the multi-millionaire socialite be treated any different that you or I in this case.
I read a piece today written by a former Capt. in the sheriff’s dept. of L.A. county. He made the statement that any normal prisioner would have been taken to the infirmary and seen for a medical problem, such as a rash(though they would have had to wait approx. 8 to 24 hours to have been seen) or taken to the County Mental Health facility for any emotional problems. But she is the first inmate he could ever remember in 25 years with the county jail, that got sent home on house arrest with in 8 hours of her complaint. And she was ordered home by the Sherriff himself.
That’s
special treatment John. Has nothing to do with the crime or even the sentence, a point you seem to have missed.
But, hey……60 days house arrest in the house she lives in, would be an almost cruel and unusual punishment case, so I can see your cause for concern about the young tramp.
56: JCD: “Interesting heartless bunch who reads this blog, eh?”
To say nothing of the ones who write it:
Paris Hilton Released from Jail Already! Sent Home! So much for impartial justice!
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=11863#comments
RBG
Carumba. Talk about the heavy hand of justice:
Just now reading a story about a prison escape by the dude once indicted for plotting to kidnap David letterman’s boy (and also overcharging Letterman for painting work at his ranch). Can that last sentence really be true?
“Prosecutors later dropped a charge of solicitation to kidnap, in exchange for guilty pleas on three other charges, including felony theft and misdemeanor obstruction.
Frank was sentenced to 10 years in prison for overcharging the talk show host.”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,279732,00.html
RBG
72–While totally off topic, why say justice has a heavy hand when right below that article Ms Winkler kills her husband in cold blood and gets 210 days with the 150 days in prison to count towards that. With good behavior credits, she should walk home from the court house?
2 Months for Murder could be Exhibit A for anybody wanting to talk about it being OK to abuse Christians? But then, some people do deserve killing. (I did not reconfirm dates!)
IE–as Paris shows, our court system is “all over the place.”
As some have said, its not about justice, but rather arriving at a conclusion.
John it might be just a calafornia thing but In most states DUI is a one trick crime. You get caught with any hint of alcohol you are jailed. Now I realise our west coast friends are more concerned about the 3500 people killed in bagdad and not yhe 35,000 killed by drunks but some perspective might be in order.
I think it’s bullshit she’s in jail. A show basically. Won’t accomplish any more than house arrest would have, other than cause hardship for the jailers and also provide fodder for news/media/tabloids/etc.
Amaxzing.
The people concerned about poor little Miss Hilton
“Her sentence was extreme”
What
She was caught drunk driving
She was let go once for driving without a license yet again
“She is a dumbbell who does not realize what she is doing”
First she seems to be a wonderful marketer of herself
again and again and again
She seems to be able able to make friends with all the high profile people and know how to protect herself
She ( or her parents) seemed to know how to manipulate the legal system , even if it was her parents and the lawyers to get her a reduced sentence and then to have it basically curtailed.
She seemed to fully react and comprehend news of her sentence “I must be brave”
The only difference here is that she was never held to task for her actions again and again and again because of fame and wealth ( or reverse order)
Basically it is a situation that the little brat is finally being held accountable for her actions and she and her family are in shock
. “Mommy. This can’t be happening to me”
“This is wrong”
Bet you she knows the consequences now and will not do it again.
What she think she was doing at the time – going fishing ?
>>Interesting heartless bunch who reads this blog, eh?
Naw, not heartless. If she lived in PA, she would have gotten 90 days in the slammer, no exceptions for sex videos OR good behavior. 23 days doesn’t seem too bad. It’s not like it’s going to cause her any financial hardship, unlike the working-class heroes who lose their jobs, their families, and their lives. TFB, she was sentenced to jail, and now she’s gotta do her time. Boo frickety hoo.
And she’s not being thrown in with “herion” dealers, she’s got a private room.
#65 – Bubba Ray Thanks for your level-headedness. I suspect you might enjoy the COMMON SENSE with Dan Carlin podcast. That goes for anyone who values viable solutions over rhetoric.
And thanks for the invitation into the sensible skies – I’m sure you wouldn’t suggest that to someone who you thought was mentally deficient. As for taking that first flying lesson – that ship has sailed. I did that (even soloed three times) in college, when I was young and stupid enough to believe that partying was more important. It is a fundamental design flaw of the human condition that we grew old too soon and smart too late.
>>That sleazy cunt Lindsay Lohan is all the things you accuse
>>Paris H of being.
Jeez. Got a little resentment built up there, dude? As fucked up as Lindsay Lohan may be, at least she’s got the sense to appoint a designated driver.
I continue to be puzzled over why so may people are so het up about a slutty bim doing 23 days in a Celebrity Cell. Christ, if she went into rehab, it would have been a MONTH. As that great celebrity felon, Robert Blake, used to say, “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time”. It’s not like this was a first offense. She had PLENTY of warning.
Sorry, John, you got taken in by writing like this from the Washington Post, “”Mom! Mom! Mom!” she cried out to her mother, Kathy, who collapsed in tears in the front row of the courtroom.
And “Hilton, who was brought from her home to the court in handcuffs in a sheriff’s car, entered the courtroom red-eyed and trembling, and she cried throughout the hour-long hearing, dabbing her face with tissues, biting her knuckles, and shaking her head. She sat slumped at the table throughout the proceeding, wearing a gray sweater, her blond hair pinned up.”
Were any of the Dukies ever described like that? No, they were the rich white boys and the lying psychotic stripper was a poor black single mom student.
Lauren brought up the phrase misoginst to describe some of the male behavior. I think there is a male:female thing going on here, but it is not misogny but a reaction to misandry, a hatred of men.
DUI laws were made tougher by MADD, mothers against drunk drivers, and the reason it is MADD versus Parents against Drunk Driving is that we all know men don’t give a shit about DUI. Men are 4x more likely to be found be DUI and are thus incapable of making laws to fix the problem.
Anybody against the brutal punishments laid out by MADD was against safer streets and advocating for people driving drunk.
So a woman is caught multiple times DUI, and what does a woman call men upset about the leniency given her? Misoginists, of course. What else?
There is a big difference between men reacting to misandry and misogny. If you believe in true eqality of the sexes as I do, it does mean bringing women down to earth when they want superior treatment under the law. In fact, Paris Hiton blamed her publicist , a man, for her troubles.
This went way beyond Paris Hilton. To me because of the high profile nature of this case, the integrity of the legal system was brought into question.
Stories of interest and worthy of comment.
New War Commander 11
N.Y.C. drivers license 21
Paris Hilton 81
Says something about the commenter’s eh.
Check out this Paris Hilton in Jail video. Absolutely hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k66epna2Sss
Yup, there certainly are lots of variables in this tortured and complex issue.
Jail is tough. Especially for first offenders. Law is applied unevenly. Mostly to poor people and working folks. Rarely to the rich and famous. Our prison and jail systems suck. We’d be better off spending money on a safe and sane jail system instead of better hardware to kill foreigners – in their own countries, no less.
So, if prison reform, drug and alcohol rehab are your prime domestic issues, you already realize you have to fight the crooks in Congress and the White House to establish sensible priorities in this blissfully ignorant nation of ours.
What’s left for the rest of us? Regardless of politics. Regardless of preconceptions of what’s Liberal and what’s Conservative.
For me, the safety of my friends, family and neighbors takes priority. If that means warehousing junkies and drunks – so be it. I have even more hard-nosed opinions about what to do with drug dealers and sleazy judges who shove folks through revolving doors. But, that would be a distraction to the question.
Junkies and drunk drivers are not guilty of non-violent crimes. They’re guilty of being a robbery or accident waiting to happen. Should they get treatment? You betcha! Meanwhile, I want to reduce the odds of coming home and finding my few hard-earned possessions ripped off – or getting a phone call from the morgue to identify my wife.
Overly dramatic? I don’t think so. It happens every day.
For me – preserving the lives of the innocent takes priority over bruised feelings for someone who can afford million-dollar rehab in the first place and doesn’t do squat to sort out her own problems.
73. There appears to be a number of accepted defences to murder including temporary insanity and self-defence. I’m not following the preacher’s wife item but you might recall “The Burning Bed” case where a woman killed her long abusive husband while he slept and was found not guilty.
http://tinyurl.com/2uoy9
Perhaps it can be said that unless you have the benefit of hearing all the evidence in a court situation, it is difficult to sit in judgement.
And I hope there is some validity to this principle because, on the surface, I find the preacher’s wife case pretty outrageous.
RBG
#56: At least heroin dealers sell to people willing to buy heroin. Drunk drivers do what? Kill people who are volunteering to be killed?
Wait, wait, wait. There are two completely different issues going on here,
1. Did the punishment fit the crime?
2. Did Paris get special treatment?
What is driving everyone crazy is #2. The toughness of the sentence is an entirely different discussion. We can talk all day about whether 45 days was too stringent for this crime. Frankly, it is immaterial to whether she got special treatment. If house arrest after two days was typical of 90% of the people charged with non-violent crimes, then fine but clearly that is not the case.
The number of comments on this post versus the number of comments elsewhere clearly shows to me why people are forgetting 9/11, as shown in John’s other post.
#78, Comment by BertDawg,
Thanks for the link, that man (Dan Carlin) has some talent. I don’t agree with everything he says, but then it wouldn’t be any fun. would it? [Heck, I don’t even agree with everything my own wife says, I’m a cranky geek.]
Clear skies to you, and congrats on solo flights.
#56 John
1. This wasn’t her first DUI. So, clearly she has a problem with alcohol. It’s generally a good thing to be tough with those people.
2. She could have easily afforded a driver or a taxi.
3. Right or wrong, she is a role model for a lot of youngsters. So, unlike most DUIs, kids will be following this one.
4. Equal under the law, but the government will make examples of people (remember Leone Helmsley’s tax problems) simply by pursuing cases to the fullest extent of the law. Being famous and showing disrespect to a judge was a good way to help it pick Hilton as the DUI poster child.
Although I’m sad for Hilton and her parents, I think it’s good that the government is telling everyone, “We will turn your life upside down if we catch you DUI.” In any event, maybe this will get her off the booze before she kills someone and then really has a reason to cry in prison.
>>I think it’s good that the government is telling everyone,
>>“We will turn your life upside down if we catch you DUI.”
I’m not sure that 23 days in the Celebrity Cell is exactly “turning [her] life upside down”. It’s not like she doesn’t have a maid to feed the chihuaha. Twenty-five to life would be turning her life upside down. This is a glorified slap on the wrist. And a little boo-hoo-hoo and she gets to go home? Get a grip. If this were Hector Lopez, he’d be doing 90 days with no possibility of parole. I can’t believe people are actually upset that she has to go back for her involuntary vacation.
84—Let me quibble. In the Burning Bed the defendant was found Not Guilty. No punishment is completely appropriate. Ms Winkler was found guilty- – – even if most of the underlying facts are the same, the verdict is different and different consequences are “supposed” to flow from that.
Still, as with the Hilton case, I find 95% of “outrageous” cases become more reasonable when something other than the headlines are read. The hot coffee in the lap is a good example if you read the details behind the verdict you might still disagree, but it becomes much closer to call.
#86–As written just above, I’m hoping you have some facts I haven’t read yet? The Jail Sheriff said most people in Paris’s situation would not have gotten jail time and/or would have gotten home release. Is he lying or what do you know/think/suspect????
Finally, what does anyone think of this:: “Legally, the judge can impose a sentence from 0-90 days in jail totally within his own “discretion.” Taking that as true, is it appropriate for a judge to give 99.9% of defendants home probation and single one person out for 45 days in jail because she pissed him off for various and multiple reasons or was fairly observed to be totally noncompliant/disrepectful of the courts/societies authority??? ((There must have been a few in that 99.9% who were equally or more disrespectful?))