[Previous entry: "6/6/44 ... Never Forget ..."] [Next entry: "Poor Little Eye Candy"]
06/07/2007: "That Was Quick ..."
Breaking news from La-La Land - America's Most Wanted Heiress Leaves Jail!
There's a rumor flying - literally - around Los Angeles this morning that Paris Hilton, currently on Day 3 of a possible 45-day jail sentance for probation violation, was released early this morning. I say literally, because the news chopper fleet is currently circling over the jail, hoping to see something newsworthy. I guess that's a little like slamming the barn door after the horses have long since left ... 
The pundits were all over this on the AM news radio - pathetic in it's own right - talking about just what it all means. It was accurately pointed out that if released, Paris actually served the typical sentence she was looking for - the average is supposedly 2.3 days. I can just see Sherriff Lee Baca with his stopwatch counting down to the exact average just to avoid any more talk about preferential treatment.
On the other hand, there were those who bemoaned the early release, questioning what that meant for the "indigent, immigrant and minority" population when they have to go to jail for the full term. I agree they tend to take it in the shorts, but I don't think that's germaine to this particular case.
Paris claimed that she wanted to use the time to reflect and that she would come out a better person ... here's hoping she's a quick study.
UPDATE: TMZ.com is being quoted as saying that her release was "medically-related" and that she has been fitted with an tracking ankle bracelet that she must wear for the remainder of her 45-day original sentance.
I gotta admit, I was a lot more impressed when I thought it was the LASD simply treating her like any other minor offender and kicking her to the curb after a couple of days. This whole "medical" thing smack of the exact kind of preferential treatment Hilton claimed to be trying to avoid. Can't imagine a crack-addicted hooker getting released for "medical reasons" ...
UPDATE #2: See - this is why we love Celebrity Justice! We all know that Paris Hilton didn't deserve to go to jail, and that they were just posturing and wanted to make an example out of her. Had she been a typical middle class girl, she'd have paid a fine and gone home. Of course, if she were from the inner city, she'd have done the full time, but that's another story.
Anyway, now that she's out, everyone's terrified of being seen as easy on crime or supporting light sentances for rich white girls, so they're lining up at the microphone. All the usual suspects are there, including Al Sharpton - is there anything in the world about which he doesn't hold a strong negative opinion? LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who apparently has done such a good job on taking out the gangs that he has plenty of time for the little things, has filed a motion demanding that Hilton be returned to jail and accusing the Sherriff's Department of contempt of court. Of course, he represents Los Angeles City - the Sherriff is Los Angeles County ... just a little turf warfare going on there.
Stay tuned - it'll get a lot more stupid.)
UPDATE #3 (AND, GOD WILLING, THE LAST...): Congratulations to Rocky Delgadillo and Lee Baca for achieving something I was convinced was a physical impossibility - turning Paris Hilton into a sympathic figure. Their personal game of "Paris-Pong" reached a new low today as Hilton was returned to jail to finish the remainder of her 45-day sentance for parole violation. But it was how they did it that will ultimately have people questioning the abilities of these two. Hilton was perp-walked out of her Hollywood Hills home in handcuffs with the snapping of over 50 paparazzi and helicopters hovering overhead. The subsequent caravan to the court was the biggest deal since the OJ Simpson slow speed chase in the now-famous White Bronco. When all the posturing and preening was over, Hilton was ordered back to jail and taken away crying and screaming.
I'm the last guy to side with Paris on most things, but if she's in fact just doing what she's told in terms of going home to do house arrest, the politicos need to show a little more professionalism than they have so far. This isn't the damned Freeway Stalker - it's a spoiled rich girl driving on a suspended license. If it's you or me, we never would have gone to jail, but then there wouldn't have been the same political hay to make for Baca and Delgadillo - and that's what's driving this whole pathetic mess.
