Paris' jail term halved
Paris must report to jail by June 5th
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Thursday, 17, May 2007 11:09
Paris Hilton is to serve just half of the 45-day sentence handed to her by a court after she was given credit for good behaviour.
A spokesman for the county sheriff's department in Los Angeles confirmed that the 26-year-old socialite will be required to serve 23 days in a detention unit which is reserved for celebrities and other high-profile inmates.
LA authorities decided that Paris should be sent to the "special needs housing unit" in recognition of her good conduct, including the fact that she turned up for her latest court appearance.
The wealthy hotel heiress was sentenced earlier this month after being found guilty of driving on a license which had been suspended following a previous conviction for drink-driving.
She will now serve out her time in a block at the Century Regional Detention Centre in LA's suburban district of Lynwood.
Paris' home for the duration of her sentence will be one of 12 two-person cells within the unit.
The US socialite, who has been ordered to report to jail by June 5th, has previously insisted that she is "ready to face" the consequences of violating a probation order which banned her from driving.
In a statement earlier this month Paris said that she didn't expected to be treated any differently to anyone else in receiving her punishment, although the decision to place her in a detention facility designed for celebrities could raise eyebrows.
The move comes after the heiress' psychiatrist claimed that she would be unable to testify in a separate civil case against her because she was "emotionally distraught and traumatised" by her sentence.
In legal papers filed in relation to a lawsuit brought against Paris by actress Zeta Graff, Dr Charles Sophy reportedly insists that the reality TV star needs time to recover from the shock of being ordered to jail before appearing in court again.
It remains to be seen what impact the reduction in her sentence will have on Paris' role in the second case, which relates to claims that she spread lies about Graff.