Entertainment> Celebrities

Los Angeles sheriff ordered to explain Hilton release

(AFP)
2007-06-13 08:43

Los Angeles sheriffs were on Tuesday ordered to explain why Paris Hilton, pictured April 2007, was released from jail last week, an event that triggered an outcry and allegations of "celebrity justice."[AFP]

Los Angeles sheriffs were on Tuesday ordered to explain why Paris Hilton was released from jail last week, an event that triggered an outcry and allegations of "celebrity justice."

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to request the explanation at a weekly meeting amid ongoing claims that the hotel heiress had received preferential treatment from the sheriff's department.

Hilton, who was ordered back to jail by a Los Angeles judge on Friday, was freed from her 45-day day jail sentence for undisclosed medical reasons last week after serving only three days behind bars.

However, her release angered civil rights activists and public officials, who said Hilton could have been treated for any medical condition at a prison hospital facility.

Veteran activist Al Sharpton said Hilton had been granted an early release because she was white and wealthy, and questioned whether a rapper would have been allowed to go home early.

Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca has denied accusations of favoritism, saying Hilton had been treated more severely by the courts because of her celebrity.

He said other people would have been unlikely to serve any prison time because of the early release program. City attorneys have disputed Baca's claims.

Meanwhile Hilton, who remains in a medical unit at the Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles, received a visit from her parents Rick and Kathy on Tuesday, who were forced to push through a scrum of media camped outside the facility.

"It is what it is, you know," Kathy Hilton told reporters after the visit. "She wants to just do her time and get on."

Hilton is scheduled to be released on June 26, assuming time off for good behavior. She was sent to jail after a court ruled she had violated the terms of her probation for a drink-driving offence by twice getting behind the wheel while her license was suspended.

The New York Post reported Tuesday that Hilton's parents were planning a huge "get out of jail" party for their daughter when she is released.

The newspaper said that Rick Hilton, had asked a string of Las Vegas clubs to stump up cash, flights and hotel rooms for the honor of hosting the bash.

"He was originally asking for a 50,000-dollar cash fee to be paid, as well as accommodations and flights," the Post quoted its unnamed source as saying.