'Mom, Mom, It's Not Right!' Paris is Back in Jail

Jun 10, 07:05 PM

Current Headlines: Sobbing, handcuffed and wearing no make-up, celebrity heiress Paris Hilton was sent back to jail over the weekend to complete her 45-day sentence for driving while her licence had been suspended.

Hilton, 26, screamed "It's not right!" and cried "Mom, Mom, Mom" to her mother seated behind her in court as she was led away by sheriff's deputies on Friday (Saturday morning Beijing time).

On Saturday celebrity website TMZ.com reported that she had not eaten or slept since returning to jail, and was being housed in the jail's medical ward.

Nevertheless, the socialite and hotel heiress said late on Saturday afternoon that she had told her attorneys not to appeal the order that sent her back to jail after a day of house arrest.

"Being in jail is by far the hardest thing I have ever done," Hilton said in a written statement issued by her attorney, Richard Hutton. "During the past several days, I have had a lot of time to think and I believe that I am learning and growing from this experience."

Hilton was ordered back to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, in Lynwood, Los Angeles on Friday after a judge overruled a sheriff's decision to place her under house arrest because of psychological problems. She had spent three days of an expected three-week term behind bars.

The multimillionaire known for her party-going lifestyle was crying a lot and was very withdrawn, TMZ reported. She is being held in a room by herself with a glass door that is guarded at all times, the report said.

TMZ also said Hilton was taking psychotropic medication, but did not specify which drug. Psychotropic medications affect a person's emotions and behavior and include drugs like lithium, which is taken for depression, and Valium, which eases anxiety.

Hilton's return to jail - at least for the time being - is the latest episode in the bizarre world of celebrity justice.

Thanks to the starlet's release and re-imprisonment, the Hilton courtroom fiasco now takes its place in the upper ranks of the pantheon of celebrity mishaps, alongside OJ Simpson's slow-motion ride in a Ford Bronco and Michael Jackson dancing on a car roof outside a courthouse.

The ruling by Judge Michael Sauer was the culmination of a frantic and sometimes surreal morning in LA. Reporters were waiting outside Hilton's home from early in the morning, expecting her to depart for a 9 am hearing that had been ordered by Judge Sauer following her "reassignment" from jail to house arrest on Thursday. Judge Sauer had not approved the move.

The turf war between the judge and the sheriff resulted in the hearing. But early in the morning a court official announced that Hilton would participate by phone from her home. Judge Sauer was not amused, and ordered police to bring her to court.

They arrived at Hilton's home almost an hour after the hearing was scheduled to begin and almost another hour passed before Hilton emerged from the house to be handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car.

When she appeared in court, it was to face a grim judge. Judge Sauer said he was still awaiting papers from Hilton's lawyers concerning her alleged medical condition.

After hearing representations, the Judge said: "The defendant is remanded to county jail to serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence. This order is forthwith."

Hilton was arrested in September and convicted of reckless driving after police saw her driving erratically late at night. She was subsequently stopped twice while driving on a suspended licence.

On May 4 she was sentenced to 45 days in jail for violating the terms of her probation.

Agencies - Guardian

(c) 2007 China Daily; North American ed.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.