In my last post -- "Paris Hilton Should Not Be In Jail" -- I got a lot of comments to the effect that Paris is dangerous and might mow down innocent people by driving drunk.
Her crime is potentially very violent. How could I dare let her off? This was precisely my point. Who cares what is good for Paris? What I am concerned about are the innocent lives that might be lost if she goes on drunk driving.
Drunk and addicted drivers kill 25,000 people every year.
A wimpy 23 days in jail will not stop the wanton Ms. Hilton from drinking and driving. After she gets out, she is obviously going to go right back to the dysfunctional and dangerous life she led before her incarceration.
Courts and ordinary judges have to get smarter than they are now. There is a better way. There are more than 1,699 Drug Courts in the US, like the one they have in Brooklyn, which have precisely the kinds of programs that Paris needs. Unfortunately, it's often easier for most ordinary Judges to just order jail time, than to think about what is really going to keep drunk drivers off the roads.
Drug Courts handle such cases through extensive supervision and treatment programs. Court mandated, strictly supervised rehab ... AA ... and weekly drug tests ... will have a much better chance of protecting all of us.
Real lives are being lost every day. This is what our focus should be on.
In fact, a court ordered, serious rehab program (Betty Ford, Hazelden or Caron) with group therapy and drug and alcohol testing -- as opposed to a celebrity detox spa -- would be much tougher on Paris than spending a mere 23 days in a cell. This all ties in to the more important question of our dysfunctional penal system and the stupidity of jailing non-violent offenders. With 2.2 million people behind bars -- ranking first per capita in the world -- the US rate of incarceration is five times what it should be. Our jails hold 25 percent of the world's inmates while our population is only 5 percent.
A better solution for Paris, that a Drug Court might impose, is a six-month jail sentence which would then be adjourned, provided Hilton adheres to strict conditions with extensive supervision, which might be as follows:
1. Attend a strict rehab program with group therapy and psychodynamic components to address her narcissism and sense of entitlement.2. Enroll in a 12-step program with verified daily attendance for six months.
3. Undergo weekly drug and alcohol testing for one year.
4. Attend individual therapy as needed.
5. Finish 200 hours of community service caring for terminal alcoholics and addicts.
Certainly, I am not naïve enough to believe that rehab works all the time. An addict might have to go through rehab 2, 3, or even 5 times before seeing much improvement. Relapse is part of the process. Nevertheless, such treatment certainly stands a better chance of success than locking someone up behind bars for a few weeks.
As it stands now, our medieval penal system, the worst in the Western world, jails non-violent drug offenders, encourages recidivism, is an enormous burden on our taxpayers, and doesn't protect us.
jfleetwood@aol.com