Paris Hilton Ordered Back to Jail: Live Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:10:00 PM EST
Tags: Paris Hilton (all tags)

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(larger and original version here, via TMZ.com.)

Bump and Update: Paris has been ordered back to jail. Via TMZ.com.

Paris Hilton was just ordered back to jail in Lynwood. Hilton left the courtoom in tears, screaming, "Mom, Mom, Mom."
One witness described the scene as being "physically dragged" out of the courtroom by a female deputy.

Update: The court spokesman says at 12:30 pm PT after the hearing that the Sheriff called the court and asked if he would modify his sentence. The Court told the Sheriff to file the appropriate pleadings and the Sheriff never did. The issue of her medical condition never came up at the hearing because no papers were ever filed about it.

Get ready for the appeal and a fight over whether the appeals court will stay the court's order today pending the outcome. She could be out today if the appeals court stays the order. But nothing will happen before Monday.

More below the fold:

TMZ reports Paris will spend the weekend in the medical facility of the jail and her lawyers will file a writ of habeas corpus for her on Monday. Habeas corpus literally means "bring forth the body." At least she still has the right to bring one, unlike those at Guantanamo, and if we don't watch the Republicans in Congress closely, none of us may in the future depending on what crimes we're charged with and where they decide to house us.

Part I, Paris on her Way to Court. This is a continuation of that thread.

The police car with papparazi in close pursuit is almost at the courthouse. The hearing should start right after she gets there.

TMZ reports she was handcuffed before being put in the patrol car. Why? She had an ankle monitor on. She couldn't escape and she's hardly a physical threat to the officers. What overkill.

This hearing will be about the authority of the Sheriff to reassign her to a different form of incarceration. Full discussion here.

Harvey is reporting on MSNBC the delay was the Sheriff refused to go get her saying the Judge didn't have the authority to tell him how to transport people in his custody. He then relented.

11:27 am PT. Hearing is still underway. No one is reporting by blackberry from the courtroom that I can tell.

12:06 pm PT: Via TMZ:

Here's what's going down in court right now. Judge Michael Sauer said, before Paris was released, he was contacted by theSheriff and told they would file a motion to place Paris under house arrest. The judge said the motion was never filed, and added, "There's no way I would have approved it even if I got the motion." The prosecutor, Dan Jeffries, who is also pissed at the Sheriff, accused the Sheriff of "assuming all three roles of the criminal justice system," claiming "Sheriff Lee Baca is interpreting the law all by himself."

1:20 pm MT: No more updates on this by me for now. I'm off to Aspen. I'm turning the blog over to Big Tent Democrat, TChris and Last Night in Little Rock. I'll post from there sporadically this weekend.

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Paris Hilton Ordered Back to Jail: Live Thread | 73 comments (73 topical)

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Jeralyn (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:23:49 PM EST

That pic kinda creeps me out. As skinny as she is, and a night shot of her wearing those shades and that white hoodie, she looks like a horse fly going to a KKK rally...

I changed the picture (none / 0) (#7)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:55:21 PM EST

but I love that one, it's a goat-skinned hoodie.


btw (none / 0) (#11)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:59:25 PM EST

in the new pic it does look like she's cuffed, otherwise she'd probably be shielding her face from the paparazzi.


in the new pic, she looks like she's crying (none / 0) (#13)
by scribe on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:10:52 PM EST

but the female officer in the front seat looks like her co-star/BFF Nicole Richie.


: Crying, but w/o the world's smallest (none / 0) (#16)
by oculus on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:14:08 PM EST

violin.

Thanks for changing the pic. (none / 0) (#10)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:57:26 PM EST

Lynnwood (5.00 / 1) (#33)
by Deconstructionist on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:23:28 PM EST

Lynnwood, you were livin' hell to me
You hosted me for weeks, I think three
I've seen 'em come and go and I've seen them cry
And long ago I stopped askin' why.

Lynnwood, I hate every inch of you.
You've cut me and have scarred me thru an' thru.
And I walked out a wiser, weaker gal
Mister Congressman, thought you were my pal.

Lynnwood, what good do you think you do?
Do you think I'm different now that you're through?
You bent my heart and mind and maybe my soul,
And your block walls turned my blood a little cold.

Lynnwood, may you rot and burn in hell.
May your walls fall and may I live to tell.
May all the world forget you ever stood.
And may all the world regret you did no good.

Lynnwood, you've been livin' hell to me.

With apologies to the Man In Black, an idea for new single by Ms Hilton

With all due respect... (5.00 / 1) (#60)
by jerry on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 11:10:55 PM EST

Just look at her childlike innocence as she read a polite and prepared-for-her statement to the press, followed by ordering cupcakes (from her favorite sweet store) for the paparazzi once getting home to begin her time under house arrest. Just a child ... a very limited, sad little child who then abruptly had her psychological cushion snatched from beneath her ... handcuffed and carted back to jail. Is it any wonder it was just too much for her child-mind to get around?

Please stay away from my kids and their school district.

Paris is 26 years old, lives in Los Angeles, can drive the LA freeways, can hold her liquor and drugs better than you or I, knows how to make a movie, knows how to distribute a movie, knows how to broker deals, knows how to make a very sexy burger commercial.... She can fly around the world and knows how to handle herself in foreign situations.

But now you want me to believe she is just a child, just a naive waif....

There were some other folks that wanted to blame all of this on her parents.

Puhleaze. I think Paris can handle it. I think she's grown up enough and strong enough.

WSWS on campaign to keep Paris Hilton in jail (5.00 / 1) (#63)
by Andreas on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 12:51:12 AM EST

The WSWS writes:

The pious outrage Thursday over heiress Paris Hilton's "early release" from jail in Los Angeles, accusations of "special treatment" and the vindictive demands that she receive "justice," i.e., punishment, have nothing healthy or progressive about them--as the images of Hilton being taken in handcuffs to court Friday morning and from there, sobbing, back to prison should indicate.
In the first place, one only has to consider those campaigning for her continued imprisonment The Rev. Al Sharpton, former FBI informer and demagogue, had plans to come to Los Angeles to protest this case of "celebrity injustice" in front of Hilton's house and, coincidentally, flocks of photographers. ...
One can only feel sympathy for the young woman and contempt for the authorities in this case. ...
To help retard the development of a rational opposition to the current political and social state of affairs, the media cultivates an artificial hostility toward much easier targets. A seething but politically confused population is fed victims, sacrificial lambs, so to speak, while the real criminals go about their business.

The campaign to keep Paris Hilton in jail: nothing healthy about it
By David Walsh, 9 June 2007

: Thanks for this Andreas n/t (none / 0) (#65)
by dutchfox on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 06:37:48 AM EST

Blame the Lawyers (5.00 / 1) (#64)
by liberalpatriot on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 01:31:30 AM EST

The Sheriff was not arrogant but relied on the accepted law that he is king of his domain, the prisons, and the judge had no jurisdiction. His lawyers and Paris' were unprepared. There is no excuse for it as anybody knows that the judge was pissed and contrition and penance needed to be offered. The lawyers attitude can be explained that it being LA,a Friday and the surf was up, this morning reality law stuff was just a hassle before they hit the freeway home and to the beach. They acted like typical LA lawyers were BS baffles brains.
They negligently failed to bring the medical evidence instead wanting to sing and dance like Richard Gere /Billy Flynn in Chicago. Unfortunately the judge also saw Chicago and was not impressed with their song and dance number. The Chicago summer sequel was a dud.
If you listen to the hearing, the judge was almost begging for the medical testimony but the Richard Gere wannabes played on. Simon Cowell should have been the judge.

It appears that there may have not been any written psychiatric reports but they could have taken the time to call that Waldo her psyciatrist to the stand as they had at least 3 hours to get him. They could exclude the public and then had their Waldo present live testimony consisting of polysyllablic words, being the typical babbleturd opinion that any good psychiatric hackwitness is prepared to give. Opposing counsel would be bewildered in having to think about that psychiatric stuff but the judge would then have grounds to change his sentence and the public would fall for it, as we know she is nuts or we are nuts. Paris would be home.
Now her lawyers are burning up the $50,000 retainer over the weekend preparing an appeal, which would be much easier if the medical testimony was in the file.The sheriff is probably reaming out his lawyers and the judge is pulling his hair out because the appeal will now ensconce Paris as the person whose name is on that case that decides the separation of power between judge and sheriff.
Meanwhile Paris occupies a needed bed in the hospital, being waited on hand and foot, while some pathetic psychotic is kept comotose by drugging in his barren cell because there is no bed in the prison hospital.
One good thing today, I can not locate any mention of Operation Human Sacrifice, or whatever Orwellian name it now has, in that fruitless occupation of Iraq. Maybe we got through the day without wasting another American life. Maybe the Iraqui stopped killing us to watch Paris, thinking we will destroy ourselves with trivality.

: Operation Freedom Fries n/t (none / 0) (#67)
by fairleft on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 08:35:47 AM EST

Careful with those condemnations and judgments (4.66 / 3) (#40)
by Aaron on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:45:23 PM EST

Watching Paris cry in the back of that police car, made me think about the first time I got arrested, and sent to jail. Believe it or not, I got arrested for doing the right thing, but according to the law in my circumstance, motivation didn't mean anything, only my actions.

But the reasons you go to jail hardly matter, all that matters is losing your freedom. It's something you can't describe to someone who's never experienced it, you've got live it to understand, something I most definitely don't recommend. We Americans take our freedom for granted, but just lose it one time and you'll understand how vital it is, and how utterly devastating it is to lose. It's not the conditions, or the company, or the food, it's the fact that you can't leave, that really puts the Zap on your head.

Back in the day when Native Americans lived their whole lives out underneath the stars and the sky, and then got thrown in jail for any length of time or sent to prison, they usually didn't survive very long, first they would go crazy, and then they would just lay down and die.

In a very real sense, losing your freedom is a kind of death, that's what makes it so awful and that's why I find it so easy to empathize with anyone who's being dragged back to that nightmare. Watching Paris I can feel myself back behind those walls, and all I want to do is escape, it's a very primitive instinctual response.

So to all those people condemning Paris to something you know nothing about, and laughing at her pain, be careful with those judgments because one day it might be you in that cold empty cell, and I promise you on that day you won't be laughing, and you may be the one crying for your Mama.

: Well said sir.... (5.00 / 1) (#46)
by kdog on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 04:51:18 PM EST

It drives me nuts when people say a day/week/month in a cage is "no big deal". The only bigger deals I can think of are physical torture or death.

Po lil Paris, she gets a taste (1.00 / 1) (#31)
by Electa on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:06:12 PM EST

of the real world and whines mommy, mommy, mommy. Y should she be treated any differently than anyone else who's broken the law? What about the millions of inmates who are serving long term sentences on petty drug crimes. Maybe her mummy promised the Sheriff head of security in exchange for overruling the judge's order.

I'm sure her incarceration will serve her career well as the porn pics did for sent her to the forefront of celebrity status. what a pitiful condition this country has been reduced to. Enjoy the SHU.

If you've ever been standing next to (5.00 / 3) (#36)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:36:00 PM EST

a defendant being sentenced who gets whalloped, and yes, some of both sexes do cry "Mom," you'd know it's a hearbreaking scene, not one to make fun of.


I was incarcerated w/Martha (5.00 / 0) (#53)
by Electa on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 05:35:16 PM EST

at Alderson and you're right she served her time w/dignity and with one special privilege...housing. She was allowed to remain in the orientation cottage versus living in a range unit. When Martha was an inmate she was an inmate treating everyone with respect and in turn received respect. Paris didn't just get 45 days for sake of getting 45 days, she violated her probation showing no acceptance of responsibility for her actions.


: Maybe someone believes you. (none / 0) (#71)
by 1980Ford on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 04:10:34 PM EST

I don't. But maybe you really were incarcerated w/Martha and the formally incarcerated are mini-police officers, or prosecutors, or judges nowadays. Or maybe the better question would be why were you in the orientation cottage? That could explain it.

I've stood in a defendant's (none / 0) (#44)
by Electa on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 04:11:36 PM EST

shoes, my own.


I once had a case where the officers (none / 0) (#1)
by oculus on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:09:36 PM EST

searched the patrol car, then put a passenger, who they had just search, in the back seat [screen between front and back seats]. The passenger pulled a gun on the officers.

Paris will survive handcuffing while riding in a patrol car with law enforcment officers. Many have. Its for office safety.

I once had a case where (none / 0) (#4)
by Deconstructionist on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:45:13 PM EST

My skinny and very flexible client stepped through his cuffed arms got them in front of him then kicked out the plexishield, climbed into the front seat and drove away in the patrol car which the officer conveniently had left running for him.

It was not a good move --especially since, surprise, surprise he wrecked car and his original charge was a simple battery .


: can't top that one (none / 0) (#17)
by oculus on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:15:31 PM EST

Similar case resulted in a fatal shooting (none / 0) (#21)
by Aaron on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:33:35 PM EST

A friend of mine from high school who is a cop once shot and killed a cuffed suspect who was in the back of his patrol car. The suspect had been searched, but somehow produced a gun and attempted to shoot at officers outside of the squad car.


I just hope they took her belt away from her (none / 0) (#3)
by jerry on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:44:23 PM EST

Because we don't want any hangings back there.

http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/alices.shtml

I'm trying to think of any case where a defendant (none / 0) (#5)
by oculus on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:49:46 PM EST

on OR showed up late to sentencing hrg. and then stayed out of custody until reporting date. Amazing.

happens all the time (none / 0) (#8)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:55:47 PM EST

traffic conditions may make someone late.


Yes, but what excuse did she give? (none / 0) (#12)
by oculus on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:02:50 PM EST

: my favorite was, (5.00 / 2) (#14)
by scribe on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:12:49 PM EST

as the judge was berating the defendant for missing his court date, she asked: "where were you?"
To which the defendant answered: "Jail in [the next] county".
Shut the judge up.

Jeralyn, GET TO ASPEN! (none / 0) (#6)
by rdandrea on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:51:10 PM EST

It's a beautiful day over here on the Western Slope.

If you have XM in the car you can listen to the CNN audio feed on channel 122.

Ok, I'm almost out the door (none / 0) (#9)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 01:56:16 PM EST

just waiting for this to be over!


: compelling TV, no? (5.00 / 1) (#15)
by scribe on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:13:26 PM EST

What was it I wrote (in my diary) about "the only bad publicity is no publicity"?

She's going back to jail (none / 0) (#18)
by Aaron on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:23:45 PM EST

It's official, according to CNN

I feel bad for her, now (none / 0) (#19)
by Aaron on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:26:08 PM EST

It really sucks to be released from jail, and get that amazing feeling of freedom, that makes you want to pee in your pants you're so excited, and then have to go back.

God what a nightmare.


But did she bring her toothbrush? (none / 0) (#20)
by oculus on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:30:32 PM EST

: They don't let you take anything these days (none / 0) (#22)
by Aaron on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:44:07 PM EST

You have to beg for toothbrush in jail, or at least the ones in South Florida, and it ain't no oral-B, and don't think you'll be doing any flossing in lockup. They don't care about your gums.

Idiots. (none / 0) (#23)
by scribe on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:44:17 PM EST

All of them.

She should've fled the country (none / 0) (#25)
by Aaron on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:50:40 PM EST

If it was me, and I had her money, I would've made a run for old Mexico or hopped a freighter to the South Pacific, eventually making my way to Amsterdam, bought a bag of Bubble Gum and called up the LA Sheriff's office and laughed in their faces.

I'm changing my position, FREE PARIS!!!

SCREW THE ROTTEN SYSTEM!!!

Sure make light of her but... (none / 0) (#27)
by jerry on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:54:58 PM EST

Realize that in today's global, smaller, world, how much we've lost in terms of cinema and adventure novels.

Glamor girl, starlet, spoiled brat ingenue steals away on tramp steamer in the middle of the night to flea the wrath of the county. On board she encounters grizzled WWII veterans, adventures with sharks, and eventually makes her way camouflaged as a nurse and a pilot across Africa and the Arctic dispensing drugs and learning a life lesson.

This is what we have lost.

Sad.


: Classic! (none / 0) (#43)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 04:03:04 PM EST

watch your language (none / 0) (#39)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:39:35 PM EST

please and don't advocate anything illegal like fleeing the country. That is not allowed here. Thank you.


a joke about (1.00 / 1) (#42)
by Deconstructionist on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:59:22 PM EST

fleeing the country is forbidden as advocating illegal activity? Be sure to chastize everyone at the NORML seminar who suggests breaking the law is OK.


If it's... (5.00 / 2) (#45)
by SeanSatori on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 04:35:13 PM EST

your regular NORML seminar, they advocate changing the law, not breaking the law. They advise you that breaking the law is done at your own risk, and won't advance their cause any.

It's hard to prove a political point if you are in jail.


Tell that to Thoreau.... (none / 0) (#48)
by kdog on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 04:59:54 PM EST

sometimes jail is the only place to prove a political point.

You're right about NORML though, I attended a rally they sponsored and the speakers were begging people not to burn, to a chorus of boos. Probably had something to do with the police having the venue surrounded.


: Unfortunately for NORML (none / 0) (#51)
by Dadler on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 05:15:04 PM EST

The people who are going to acheive NORML's goals are precisely those people lighting up. NORML, in many ways, is full of sh*t and very weak and highly unimaginative. The only way pointless taboos stop being taboo is when the people stop treating them as such and do what the f*ck they want to.

How much of her sentence actually remains? (none / 0) (#28)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 02:56:56 PM EST

She had 45, and assuming good behavior, she'd serve 23. Less the 5 she did leaves 18, I assume today counts, so there's 17 left? Or does the bad behavior that results in having to be physically dragged out of a courtroom make you lose time off for good behavior?

you try and do 17 days (5.00 / 2) (#34)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:33:45 PM EST

in a county jail and then report back whether it's not that big a deal.


: Depends. (none / 0) (#55)
by Ben Masel on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 05:56:30 PM EST

I was able to bring in books (paperbacks only.) Interesting enough company. Mileage may vary.

By my count 17 (none / 0) (#38)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:38:52 PM EST

she got in before midnight, if only by an hour and a half, so that day counts. She got released after midnight, so that day counts. So she gets five days credit, plus today, so that's 23 days minus 6 or 17 days.


My god (none / 0) (#30)
by SeanSatori on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:03:55 PM EST

You know, the distinct impression I get is that Paris is a pawn in this struggle between the Court and the Sheriff's Department.

I don't ever remember seeing a sheriff so blatently disrespectful of the authority of a court before. Likewise, I don't think I've ever seen a court use a defendant as a pawn in a tug-of-war with someone else.

It's disgusting on all sides.

well said (5.00 / 1) (#35)
by Jeralyn on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:34:55 PM EST

this ceased being about Paris when the City Attorney butted in and made the judge look foolish. He had to then bring down the hammer so the world would know he's not soft on crime or given to preferential treatment.


Another turf war by couthouse denizens? (none / 0) (#41)
by JSN on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 03:51:33 PM EST

After looking at the sentencing order I wondered if the sheriff and judge had tangled in the past.


Inner demons (none / 0) (#54)
by SeanSatori on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 05:51:58 PM EST

Something else that occurs to me about this Paris Hilton thing is something that occured to me when Jerry Falwell died. People seem to be very angry and bitter these days, and have been directing this anger toward targets that may or may not deserve such strong emotion. Is feeling such emotion for someone you've never met something good?

Seeing the amount of venom steered toward Paris, for all her annoying faults, seems very displaced. She is still a human being, yet everybody insists on dehumanizing her, similar to the way the right dehumanizes immigrants, or Muslims. Being in the middle of a power stuggle like this is bound to have added to that trauma that was already going on. Then you have the entire nation reveling in it.

It's like everybody's inner 29 percenter has suddenly come out to find joy in the suffering of what is basically a stupid kid, 26 or no. She is a symbol of a lot of things that are wrong with modern day society, but she didn't make society the way it is.

: Oddly enough (none / 0) (#56)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 06:32:30 PM EST

She is still a human being, yet everybody insists on dehumanizing her, similar to the way the right dehumanizes immigrants, or Muslims.
I was having similar thoughts, in that the lefties here are dehumanizing her as they usually do "wealthy" people as part of their "soak the rich" attitude.
Thanks for the ridiculous ad hominem not-even-close-to-on-topic comment.

All Paris all the time? (none / 0) (#49)
by Sailor on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 05:02:06 PM EST

Apparently 'we'll always have Paris' ;-)

Hey, it could have been worse.

My first thought was "Is Paris Burning?", but the penicillin took care of that.

Thanks, I'll be here, all weak.

jeralyn (none / 0) (#52)
by cpinva on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 05:34:31 PM EST

you never did respond to my second question, regarding the irregularity of someone in ms. hilton's position (breaking probation) actually being sent to jail.

in this case, i submit the sheriff overreached, usurping the authority of the court. the prosecutor called him on it, ms. hilton is merely a pawn in a political power struggle.

i wouldn't be surprised to hear calls for the impeachment of the sheriff. he would appear, on the surface anyway, to be guilty of malfeasance and nonfeasance.

granted, prison, regardless of the length of the sentence, or the actual surroundings, is nothing to laugh at. that said, i sense a book and "movie of the week" coming out of this, but with an actual actress playing the part of ms. hilton.

She might actually be crazy (none / 0) (#57)
by Slado on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 08:37:54 PM EST

According to a commentator on Court TV Pars might have been a little off before this all took place and prison/jail sent her over the edge.

That being said there are plenty of crazy people in jail that get no help but if it is true I'm a little more sympathetic.

If it's not then throw away the key for 40 days.

I here what people are saying but come on. Anyone can do anything for 40 days.

She would live and move on with her life. She is making a fool out of herself and the reality is she's a spoiled rich girl who has never had to do a thing for her life and probably hasn't had to actually think for herself so she's probably not equiped to deal with 20 plus hours of alone time.

The great Howard Stern summed it up well...I paraphrase..."Bring some extra books with you and deal. Unfortunately she's such a bubblehead she can't handle being alone for more then 10 minutes".

Bedlam was London Hospital (in fact a jail) (none / 0) (#59)
by JSN on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 10:33:23 PM EST

used to hold persons who were insane. Visitors who come to view and taunt the inmates were charged admission (one day a week was free). Newspapers would have a reporter record the exchanges between inmates and visitors and would print the most amusing ones. Ben Franklin use to visit Bedlam for amusement when he lived in London.

This ironically was the result of reforms introduced (in the 17th century) by the Quaker Elisabeth Fry who was able to get them to separate men, women, children and persons who were insane instead of holding everyone in the same jail.

Now we have mentally ill persons in the general populations of jails and prisons but we don't charge visitors to taunt them (that is done by the other prisoners). The Quakers also introduced solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons in the 18th century and then learned to their dismay that this either induced are aggravated insanity. Now we have mentally ill and other inmates in supermax prisons who are in solitary confinement 23 hours a day.

Why would anyone put a person who was being treated for mental illness in solitary 23 hours per day 300 years after it was discovered that it could aggravate mental illness?


: Yeah... (none / 0) (#61)
by SeanSatori on Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 11:46:07 PM EST

Bedlam = the English pronounciation of Bethlehem Royal Hospital, located near Croydon in the U.K.

She might actually be crazy!? (none / 0) (#74)
by Sailor on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 05:43:22 PM EST

yeah ... crazy like a fox ... on the run ... with a billion dollars.


: No (none / 0) (#75)
by squeaky on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 05:53:28 PM EST

....like a freak.
I don't think she had a good upbringing either which doesn't help the her weak mental condition.
Can you imagine growing up with her parents?
No thanks.

Seems to me that (none / 0) (#62)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 12:44:38 AM EST

there are some here who, in other criminal cases, are stridently against our Criminal Justice system's sentencing guidelines, who contend that these guidelines are unfair, and who fully support the CJ system being able to use its discretion in sentencing, but who then complain, as in this case, that the CJ system used its discretion but the sentence imposed is unfair.

Makes one think that no system would satisfy some people - except a system that made them the deciderer (of all sentences)...

: It appears to me that some who post (none / 0) (#69)
by JSN on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 11:49:42 AM EST

here think the federal sentencing standards apply in California. The states have their own standards but there are some common features.
Hilton's original charge could have be DUI but instead it was reckless driving and she was cited and released by the officer. So in that case the officer used their discretion. The city attorney did not add the DUI charge so she/he also used their discretion and probably recommended probation. The volume of such cases is so high that judicial review at such a low level of offense is minimal.
The probation officer could have issued a report of violation which initiates the probation revocation process several times before they did. So the PO also used her/his discretion.
In our state the maximum sentence for what Hilton did is two years in prison. That never happens because the judges use their discretion. There is a lot more discretion in the CJS than most people realize.

schoolpsyc??? (none / 0) (#66)
by jimakaPPJ on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 08:08:23 AM EST

Really??

Please. its 23 days (none / 0) (#68)
by ltgesq on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 10:27:58 AM EST

This case is too publis for a judge to allow the sheriff to just change his order.

Jerelyn, i suggest that your lack of experience as a public defender might color your view of this case. When I was a PD, my guilty clients got tossed in the tank on a regular basis. Just this week one of my clients got six years back up time on his drug case for driving while suspended. He had successfully completed every part of his probation except he picked up a new offense-- driving while suspended as a misdemeanor. He will be doing 2226 days, not 26.

Excuse me if I can't feel a whole bunch of sympathy for ms. Hilton. This could be the very first time in her life that she is feeling the consequences of her actions. Given her reported connections to people with drug problems, perhaps this jail stay could prove to be beneficial and might arrest behavior that could get her locked up for a long time.

Paris is how old? (none / 0) (#70)
by Edger on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 12:04:44 PM EST

25, 26? It's not going to kill her, probably, and it's going to be tough growing up in a few weeks (if she lets herself), but in the end maybe she'll learn something about herself.

More than she would by living her entire life completely insulated, I think.

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you

Like A Rolling Stone

Ummm (none / 0) (#72)
by Sailor on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 05:15:20 PM EST

Susan McDougal spent 6 months for NOT committing perjury, in a fed lock down (complete with orange jumpsuit, belly, wrist and ankle shackles at every court appearance) and we're supposed to think a drunk driver who continued to drive with a suspended license and didn't show up for court is worthy of our compassion.

Sorry, can't see it.

In some areas of LA, if your have a single DUI and drive with while your license is suspended you do 6 months. At least that's what the judge said.

Unfair (none / 0) (#73)
by squeaky on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 05:19:51 PM EST

Gary Leupp is right on the money.

"There's nobody in the world like me. I think every decade has an iconic blonde---like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana--- and right now, I'm that icon."

Nearly 18,000 alcohol-related fatalities last year (none / 0) (#76)
by Aaron on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 07:31:47 PM EST

I just hope that Paris learns her lesson, and doesn't drink and drive again. Perhaps her time in jail will be a wake-up call that saves her life or someone else's.

Drunk driving deaths are at an all-time highs since 1992, 17,941 people killed in 2006, that's madness and we need to crack down on these folks for their own good, and the safety of everyone on the road.

In my life, I've lost three people who were very close to me to drunk drivers, my first girlfriend and her cousin were killed just two blocks from my house. The drunk driver ran a light going 80, and hit my girlfriend's truck from behind, ripping off the top of the cab, decapitating her cousin killing her instantly, and my girlfriend lay mangled in the hospital for eight hours before dying. The guy who did it, was released from custody by the Broward Sheriff's Department within hours of killing two people. He fled the country and never had to face manslaughter charges.

All of the drunk drivers who killed my friends had a long list of drunk driving offenses on their records, some of them killed and injured a number of people before and after killing my friends. This is simply not acceptable, and the tolerance for drunk driving must come to an end.

First DUI offense , mandatory six-month license suspension and one year of probation. If you get caught driving while your license is suspended for this offense, a mandatory month in jail, and a three-year license suspension tacked on. If it happens again three months in jail, five-year suspension and so on.

First DWI offense, automatic five years license suspension, mandatory one month in jail. You get caught driving with your license suspended for this offense, mandatory three months in jail. You get busted for driving drunk again, a year in jail and a lifetime license suspension.

Driving is a privilege folks, and if you can't be responsible with your vehicle, then you can learn how to take the bus.

Easy for you to say (none / 0) (#77)
by Sailor on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 08:09:04 PM EST

Or hire a limo.


Do you (none / 0) (#78)
by squeaky on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 08:18:27 PM EST

think the same should go for bad drivers. More auto accidents/injury/death are caused by them than dwi drivers.


: Depends upon how you define bad drivers (none / 0) (#79)
by Aaron on Sat Jun 09, 2007 at 09:20:57 PM EST

If someone has a long history of speeding, aggressive and reckless driving, and yet their behavior never leads to harming another human being, no I would not be as hard on such individuals. But if such behavior leads to a series of accidents which harm other people, those individuals should lose their license for long periods of time. And if aggressive careless driving leads to the deaths of other innocent drivers, they should face the consequences like everyone. I do believe that judges take a record of such behavior into account in these situations.
There's also another group of individuals who just don't have the chops to handle a vehicle, the elderly at times, some teenagers, and people who don't have the basic motor skills and awareness to handle a car, you know like women :-) just kidding ladies.
But there's a vast difference between those groups, and people who intentionally impair their ability to drive and then get behind the wheel, that is the height of irresponsibility. Driving while sleepy also leads to probably just as many or more accidents as drunk driving, but people don't intentionally make themselves sleepy, and then get behind the wheel. Being tired because you work too many hours, or your kids kept you up is often something that is not within your control, for most people alcohol and drugs are within their control. And for those who have a problem with alcohol, either get help with your problem or stop driving, one or the other.
The courts long ago decided that people with drinking problems don't have the right to lay their problems on the rest of us, because it's something that can be addressed and overcome. If you can't do this, then it's time to give up your vehicle. Very few people kill anyone drunk walking or drunk bicycle riding. Give the drunks a license that only allows them to drive a 200 pound scooter, that way they can kill themselves with less of a chance of killing other people.
My uncle was an alcoholic, and he was always driving drunk. He never harmed anyone while he was drinking and driving, but he fell asleep at the wheel and rolled a half a dozen vehicles into the ditch, almost killing himself a number of times. He had no business driving, yet he continued to do so because he thought he could handle it. Many a night when he was drunk he came screaming down the gravel lane of my grandparents farm trailing a half a dozen state troopers. He would jump out of his car and disappear into a cornfield, then deny he was ever at the wheel of the car, that's one of the ways he got away with drunk driving for years.

Hilton money given to Sheriff's campaign (none / 0) (#80)
by Dadler on Sun Jun 10, 2007 at 11:54:45 AM EST

Just as I suspected at the outset.

Hilton's billionaire grandfather gave money to Sherrif Lee Baca's campaign. As Gomer Pyle would say: "Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise!"

Follow the money, as always.

: Good One (none / 0) (#81)
by squeaky on Sun Jun 10, 2007 at 12:15:53 PM EST

"All heiresses should be put in prison on general principle," actor John Cusack said.