Paris In The Light

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Mega-Media Trends

(L.A. Co. Sheriffs Department)

Something to keep in mind when considering the media-driven outrage over Paris Hilton's "early" release from prison:

Paris Hilton will end up serving more time behind bars than the vast majority of inmates sent to L.A. County Jail for similar offenses, according to a [Los Angeles] Times analysis of jail records…Had Hilton left jail for good after four days, her stint behind bars would have been similar to those served by 60% of those inmates.

The press corps hasn't exactly deigned to contextualize the celeb's sentence, even though analysts were pointing out the relative injustice of it back on June 7. Instead of clear-headed and informed reports about Hilton's jailtime, we' ve mostly seen antagonistic stories that feed into our class resentment and angst-ridden relationship with celebrity culture.

And people think ideological bias is the biggest problem with the media?

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by joycewest June 14, 2007 2:42 PM EDT: Giving context to Hilton's sentence involves more than just comparing her time to what is currently the norm in L.A. As the Los Angeles Times story you referred to points out, the early-release program has only been in effect 5 years and it has its critics.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
"The data also underscore the profound effect of the Sheriff's Department's early-release program, which sets inmates free before their sentences are up to ease overcrowding.
"Before the early-release program began in 2002, inmates with cases similar to Hilton's were sentenced to terms that amounted to an average of 23 days, the same as Hilton is expected to serve. They actually served 20 days. After the program began, the average term was 14 days, with inmates actually serving an average of four days."
Is the real story here that Paris Hilton is getting a tougher sentence than most, or that inmates are being released too early due to overcrowding? The Los Angeles Times has been the best source of information I've seen on this story.
Does anyone bother to compare Hilton's sentence with those received for similar offenses across the country? A defense attorney in my state says Hilton's sentence is actually quite reasonable. The public outrage over her early release after 3 days is not without reason. I'm not sure such a short time behind bars is the reality in all parts of the country.; Reply to this comment

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