Ugh Paris Hilton is one person I cannot stand but I feel I have to speak out on this travesty in the US… Apparently due to a “medical condition” she is being released from jail after spending 3 nights behind bars with the rest of her time to be served as house arrest.
Paris Hilton was released from a Los Angeles County jail early Thursday because of an unspecified medical problem and will fulfill the reminder of her sentence in home confinement, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
Source: The Star
I mean heck her original sentence was 45 days and it was cut down to 23 due to good behaviour. Funny I didn’t know you could get your sentence reduced ahead of time on the promise of being good. Now she gets to serve 40 odd days house arrest in her mansion, yeah that must really suck. The American people should be appalled that their judicial system allowed this to happen, heck if it did in Canada you can bet I’d write my MP/MPP an angry letter!
Far be it for me to rush to the aid of someone like Hilton, but the CBC story mentioned that there were “medical reasons” and that these reasons were not for public knowledge.
It’s not uncommon for people serving light sentences (especially for non-violent crimes) to have their sentence reduced like this. For all we know, the medical condition was deeply psychological (claustrophobia, panic attacks, etc.) or even physical — reasons *anyone* in her position would be eligible for a reduced sentence.
We just can’t condemn the situation without knowing the whole story.
That is an interesting point Daniel but I’d be surprised if the justice system reacts like that to all people with psychological problems, personally it seems like a copout. If it were that easy more people would fake it to get out of their sentences.
Yes without knowing her side it’s difficult to know what truly happened, hey she has a reputation for opening her big mouth, perhaps she’ll post it on her website or something. 😉
In any case Ms. Hilton does have a track record of DUI and she was pulled over twice for driving with a suspended license (which the second landed her in jail), so it’s not like she’s a saint. I dunno, it just seems like the law was soft on her to me. I wouldn’t want the system to make an example out of her but as it is, it looks like she got a pretty sweet deal one that you or I would not get in the same situation…
Hey Colin,
I believe the same injustice does occur in Canada. Do you still remember the car accident in Toronto where two rich kids, driving on Mount Pleasant in their parents’ Mercedes-Benz killed a Pakistani taxi driver? Apparently, the two kids went drag-racing after playing the “Need for Speed” video game. The deceased was about to receive his Canadian citizenship in a week’s time and was planning to sponsor his wife and kids to Canada. The court’s ruling came a few weeks ago. And guess what…..these kids only received some BS punishment in the form of house-arrest. It was very apparent that the court and the accused took advantage of the fact that the family members of deceased were foreigners and they were unfamiliar with the Canadian legal system. Besides, it would not surprise me if the kids’ parents were rich and connected! We pay much attention on Paris Hilton because she is/ or makes herself a celebrity. But the underlining truth is: THERE IS MUCH INJUSTICE IN THIS WORLD. We get screwed if we don’t know our rights. However, we get screwed more or less anyway if we don’t have the money, power or connections to practice those rights! I am not saying that the democratic system is crocked, but we should always remind ourselves that there is a price connected to our rights and freedoms.
Scott