No Easy Checkout.
Paris Hilton's travails have been getting a lot of ink lately. I wasn't planning on wasting any of my pixels, but I'd like to note 1) all the celebrating over her hard time is unseemly and 2) the judge seemed to have a chip on his shoulder and, perhaps, a fear of public opinion, which doesn't make for good decisions.
posted by LAGuy @ 1:56 AM
6 Comments:
Lee Baca seemed unafraid of public opinion, and he sure made the wrong decision, so I don't buy that argument. I agree that Judge Sauer had something to prove, but he could not have chosen a more deserving individual upon which to unleash his judicial wrath.
The above is a good example of what I'm talking about. Paris Hilton is probably getting worse treatment because she's a celebrity, and there's no question Lee Baca is in bigger trouble than he'd otherwise be because she's a celebrity.
For a smart guy, LAGuy, you are wrong on this one. Paris has been getting special treatment since minute one. She got to check in and out at the Lynwood Hilton late at night to avoid the paparazzi. She was not subjected to a cavity search upon admission. She was not sent out into general population; she was not even given a cell mate in order to protect her. She's now in the medical unit so that she can detox and suffer through her herpes flare up in privacy. Her sister Nicky came to visit her yesterday and did not have to wait on line, while the relatives and friends of other inmates stood on line for hours. And Baca deals with celebrities all the time; it was one of his deputies who got called "Sugar Tits." He's not in trouble because Paris is a famewhore. He's in trouble because he took a bribe and got his ass handed to him by one of the few straight arrows in the justice system. But Baca will be fine - he doesn't come up for re-election til 2010, plus he's a good old Scientologist, and nobody messes with those mofos.
Yes, Hilton had to come in at a different time to avoid the paparazzi--a negative that regular folks don't have to deal with.
A lot of people get out early in these situations, serving about 10% of their sentence, especially during times of overcrowding (assuming they get sentenced to begin with). Very few (none?) non-celebrities have ever created an international frenzy by getting out early, and even fewer (probably none) were forced back in due to public outcry.
Will Baca be fine? There's talk of a recall. Because he did what he often did, but this time to a hated celebrity, he's in big trouble.
Paris might get special treatment while clubbing, but no good came from her celebrity this time.
Ah, yes, the overcrowding argument. If Baca had said she got out because of overcrowding she would not have been sent back in (nobody gave a crap when Michelle Rodriguez did 5 hours for her DUI due to overcrowding). But how is it overcrowding when they gave her a two person cell all to herself? If anything, having to keep her all alone helped create an overcrowding situation that probably let another criminal do less than even 10% of their time. And if she had completed enough of her sentence to be released, then why make the house arrest arrangements? Just let her go, say she has paid her debt to society and she's free to drink and drive again. I honestly don't think she was forced back in due to public outcry. I think she was forced back in because Baca flagrantly ignored Judge Sauer's specific instructions that her time could not be served anywhere but Lynwood, and that the reasons given by Baca for her early release were so absurd and diverse that they had no merit. All the medical excuses were horseshit; my favorite was Giuliana DePandi from E! saying the dosage of medication Paris needs is too great to be administered by jail medical staff. Some legal analyst responded that there are people in jail with full blown AIDS and cancer and they can handle large dosages of medication. And the Hilton family needs to get their act together: the day before her early release Paris's aunt, failed child star Kyle Richards, gave an interview to E! saying how Paris was strong and doing "surprisingly well." Man, these people do think we are all stupid.
And PLEASE post a link to any serious talk about a recall of Baca. I've seen talk of petitions on Yahoo groups and Craig's List, but I have not seen any real media players talking about this with any seriousness, and I'd love to see this come to pass.
Do real people live out there?
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