New Barber, Prison Cell, For Convicted Killer Phil Spector

By: Ryan Smith
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo)

Phil Spector on June 5, 2009, in prison in Kern County, Calif.

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) The man who brought us some of the most astonishingly bad hair days during his trial, Phil Spector, is set to get a new barber this week and a new home.

Spector is being transfered to a different California prison, where the music producer also hopes to get a few comforts of home: a television, an iPod and computer access are at the top of his list.

As a medium-security inmate, Spector can make some requests for items he wants in his cell, and his wife acknowledges her husband is already creating a list.

"He wants a TV and an iPod or something like that for listening to music," Rachelle Spector said Tuesday. "And he would like to be able to receive e-mail."

Spector was convicted last May for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot through the mouth in the music producer's home six years ago. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

(AP)

Actress Lana Clarkson

He will now spend at least some of those years at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison at Corcoran, where more than 6,900 other inmates are housed.

Prison officials said Phil Spector may even be allowed a musical instrument, noting that some state inmates have made similar requests and play together in groups. However, Rachelle Spector said her husband doesn't plan to make much music behind bars.

"He has not requested an instrument, and I doubt if he will," she said.

Rachelle Spector said she was relieved her husband was out of North Kern State Prison, where he has been undergoing evaluation since his conviction in April. She said he wrote a letter detailing alleged abuse at the prison such as being forced to sleep naked on the floor for two nights and eating out of a bowl with his hands "like a dog."

The prison does not mistreat inmates and the actions described by the Spectors "would be a violation of policies and laws," said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections. Thornton said any report of misconduct would be investigated.

Phil Spector was placed in the "sensitive-needs facility" of his new prison and was given a single cell, Thornton said.

(AP)

Spector at his sentencing in Los Angeles, Friday, May 29, 2009.

Spector's notoriety probably got him into that housing area, Lt. Stephen Smith said. The typical inmate in the section is a former gang member who has dropped out of a gang and needs protection, Smith said.

Spector is not the first celebrity to be sent to the facility. Robert Downey Jr. served time there in 1999 for a probation violation in a drug conviction. He wound up counseling other inmates before he was released.

Spector was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2003 death of Clarkson at his home in Alhambra.

In his heyday, in the early and mid-1960s, Spector produced dozens of hits, including The Ronettes' "Be My Baby," The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and The Righteous Brothers' classic, "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'." Spector also worked on the Beatles album "Let It Be" and John Lennon's album, "Imagine."

PREVIOUSLY ON CRIMESIDER
June 11, 2009 - Mugged! Phil Spector Gets Celebrity Jail Makeover
May 29, 2009 - Spector Gets 19 To Life
May 29, 2009 - Day Of Reckoning For Phil Spector