Paris Hilton vows to serve jail sentence
LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton said Saturday she was "learning and growing" from her time behind bars and will not appeal her 45-day jail sentence for a probation violation in a reckless driving case.
The hotel heiress was at a maximum-security detention center, where she was believed to have undergone medical and psychiatric evaluations to determine the best jail to keep her in.
"Being in jail is by far the hardest thing I have ever done," Hilton said in a statement released by her lawyer, Richard A. 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, in tears and screaming for her mother, was taken to the downtown Twin Towers detention center Friday after a judge ordered her back to jail, ending her brief stint under house arrest at her Hollywood Hills home.
"The Simple Life" star had been escorted from the courtroom shouting "It's not right!"
Hilton's lawyers sought to keep her out of jail on grounds that the 26-year-old was suffering an unspecified medical condition. Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer suggested that could be taken care of at jail medical facilities.
Hutton did not respond to repeated calls from The Associated Press to verify the statement but another Hilton attorney did confirm it was authentic.
"It's true," attorney Steve Levine said. "I can't comment on it."
Sheriff Lee Baca released Hilton to home detention Thursday, just five days after she turned herself in to a different jail. His decision was criticized by the judge and a host of others.
"Today, I told my attorneys not to appeal the judge's decision," Hilton said. "While I greatly appreciate the sheriff's concern for my health and welfare, I intend to serve my time at L.A. County Jail."
Hilton's statement thanked fans for sending her mail and said she loves and misses her family.
"I must also say that I was shocked to see all of the attention devoted to the amount of time I would spend in jail for what I had done by the media, public and city officials," her statement concluded. "I would hope going forward that the public and the media will focus on more important things like the men and women serving our country in Iraq and other places around the world."
Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said he had not seen the statement and could not discuss it Saturday.
Although Whitmore wouldn't discuss Hilton's condition, citing privacy laws, Baca indicated at a news conference Friday that it was psychological.
When she went to Twin Towers, Baca said he was placing Hilton in a "better facility for her condition, meaning one that has a more intense form of medical support." He said she'd be kept under close watch to ensure "that there isn't anything harmful done to herself by herself, which is a great concern to me."
Whitmore said she'll be there at least through Sunday.
Twin Towers is equipped to treat acute medical and mental health needs, although inmates in need of more serious attention are moved to a hospital. About 40 inmates are housed per floor, and most of the rooms are designed for one patient at a time.
Hilton is truly living the simple life, in a room Whitmore described as a little more than 100 square feet, with a toilet, sink and "a sliver of a window."
It is roomier than the cell she had at her first lockup, the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, a gritty city south of Los Angeles. That cell measured only 96 square feet.
Between 10 to 20 sheriff's deputies, doctors, nurses and other medical personnel are on each floor to monitor inmates at Twin Towers, Whitmore said. The staff does not use cameras to monitor rooms.
Female inmates are allowed visits on Sundays and Tuesdays.
Sauer sentenced Hilton to 45 days in jail and said she could not serve it at home.
Hilton was credited Saturday with seven days for her sentence because she had surrendered to authorities late Sunday night after attending the MTV Movie Awards. With time off for good behavior, she could be released in a little more than two weeks.
Hilton's path to jail began Sept. 7, when she failed a sobriety test after police saw her weaving down a street in her Mercedes-Benz on what she said was a late-night run to a hamburger stand.
She pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was sentenced to 36 months' probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.
In the months that followed, she was stopped twice by officers who discovered her driving with a suspended license. The second stop landed her in Sauer's courtroom, where he sentenced her to jail.
