Ah, now I get it. They let Paris Hilton out of prison last week so she could make an idiot of herself in court. Good move there Mr American Prison System.
As previously reported, the LA County Sheriff's Department last week decided to let Hilton serve out her 45 day sentence for parole violation at home after just three days in jail, citing unqualified 'medical reasons' for not keeping her behind bars but, instead, tagging her so she was under house arrest. But the LA City Attorney Office proclaimed that it was for a judge and not the Sheriff's Department to decide where Paris should serve her sentence, and they forced the matter back into court on Friday where a judge ruled that there was no justification for Paris to not serve her whole sentence behind bars, like normal bad people.
Hilton apparently wept throughout the court hearing, before shouting "it's not right" on hearing the judge's decision. She then shouted out "Mom!" (to her mother, presumably, who was watching from the public gallery) before being dragged off screaming back to jail.
To be fair to Hilton, her main role at the court hearing seemed to be to add the melodrama, as her involvement in the legal proceedings regarding her fate was minimal - that consisting in the main of bickering between the judge and Hilton's lawyers as to whose job it was to decide whether the celebrity heiress could be given a home sentence if medical grounds suggested a jail sentence was too risky. Disagreeing that legal precedent gave that discretion to the LA County Sheriff's Department, Superior Court Judge Michael T Sauer seemed most pissed off with officers in that department who, he said, had earlier in the week said they wanted him to review medical papers on Hilton with a view to possibly allowing her to serve her sentence out of jail. Said papers, Sauer said, in a somewhat annoyed tone, never arrived and, rather, he then heard on the radio that he'd approved Hilton's release from prison, which he had not.
All of which is to say that Sauer seemed less concerned with whether or not Hilton's medical condition justified the Sheriff's Department's decision, but more why they hadn't followed protocol and delivered the papers they'd promised him. Hilton's medical condition wasn't seemingly discussed at all, mainly because her lawyers wouldn't discuss it in public session, and the judge refused their request for a private session. All of which meant poor old Paris was sent back to the slammer. Top quality entertainment Mr American Judicial System.
Despite the wailing as she left the court room, Paris has since issued a statement accepting her fate, telling reporters: "I want to thank the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and staff of the Century Regional Detention Center for treating me fairly and professionally. I am going to serve the remaining 40 days of my sentence. I have learned a great deal from this ordeal and hope that others have learned from my mistakes".
What I've learned from all this is that I've just spent far too long writing about a non-music news story. Apologies. We'll never mention Paris Hilton ever again. Even if she releases a come back album.