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Originally Posted by hi_im_god
there are inmates in l.a. county jails with aids, cancer, and serious heart conditions. none of them get released on medical need.
open heart surgery and kidney transplants get you out.
the judge, when he sentenced her, specifically ruled out serving the sentence at home. the sheriff department ignored that. they also ignored their own well established practice in dealing with requests for early medical release.
the appearence of special treatment seems unavoidable.
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OK, some fair points:
1) I doubt there are many inmates in the system with such serious conditions serving 23-45 days for a PV. Also, psychiatric issues are handled differently than physical ones...while AIDS, heart issues, and cancer can certainly kill, they are easier to handle in an institutional setting. If a person is deemed to be at risk for SI or a psychotic break, they are often transported to a hospital and housed in a psych ward, larger facilities may have their own psych ward (I don't know if this one does) but it is labor-intensive and extremely costly...specially trained staff and 1:1 supervision. For those reasons, the prison administration is likely to seek alternatives. Also, should something happen (suicide attempt, psychotic break) the "blame game" would be off the chart. Again..while I certainly believe that Paris is responsible for her actions, on balance, if I were the Warden, I'd opt for a house arrest scenerio rather than risk severe injury to this young woman.
2) I don't know the specifics of Cal law but in many states, the correctional system and/or Sheriff takes control of inmates regarding issues such as early release, good time and medical issues. In any event, if the judge has issues with the Sheriff or other officials, why take it out on Ms Hilton? Marked squad car in handcuffs, completely ignoring whatever medical condition may exist. If he was all about fairness and justice, why not get with the Sheriff and Warden and find out why their decision was made and evaluate the facts BEFORE creating this public spectacle? If, as reported, a board certified psychiatrist diagnosed her as depressed and on the edge of a psychotic break, I'd think he'd want to know that BEFORE sending her back!