(no subject)
So, I accomplished my goal of getting an A in Criminal Justice. Hooray!!!
On a similar note, I'm pretty pissed that there's so much outrage over this Paris Hilton thing. A couple of the old harpies on "The View" were like, "oh no! Why put her in jail? She's not really so bad!" Well, yes, this is the argument that you can say about a lot of people. Who is a kid hurting when he's selling weed? Why arrest someone for loitering? Paris Hilton has the resources to stay out of jail. She's just too damn dumb to adhere to the rules. It's saddening to me that so many people are outraged at this dumbass for being in jail when she will have a charmed life after she gets out. Most other people aren't so lucky. Can you imagine being in jail, even for a week? Besides the obvious element of being uncomfortable and generally unpleasant, you would most likely lose your job, be stigmatized and have a permanent mark on your criminal record. A lot of people without resources to back them up suffer greatly because of these harsh realities. Paris Hilton will escape all of that. She has no job, no responsibilities and millions of dollars in the bank. This bitch will be alright. Why does she deserve special treatment just because she's a celebrity? If anything, she should probably go to jail for longer, just to make an example of her.
However, this morning, she was released after serving only three days of a forty-five day sentence. From what I understand, she has been "reassigned" to electronic home monitoring. While I argue that this is the proper punishment for the crime, it's not really the law. In this case, the prison officials are exercising their discretion, which is wonderful, but swift justice is all too uncommon in America, especially in California. I have heard stories of people who have been held in custody for way too long for their crimes, or who have waited for over six months after being released on parole-- being imprisoned even though they are technically free. Now this girl gets out swiftly and gets a punishment that actually fits the crime when so many suffer just because they're not a dumb ass celebutante.
Obviously, the criminal justice system is thoroughly fucked up. It's overcrowded, overburdened and severely underfunded. But when fame and celebrity influence decisions that should be equal across all lines, that's when the American public should realize that there is a severe problem with every step in the process.
On a similar note, I'm pretty pissed that there's so much outrage over this Paris Hilton thing. A couple of the old harpies on "The View" were like, "oh no! Why put her in jail? She's not really so bad!" Well, yes, this is the argument that you can say about a lot of people. Who is a kid hurting when he's selling weed? Why arrest someone for loitering? Paris Hilton has the resources to stay out of jail. She's just too damn dumb to adhere to the rules. It's saddening to me that so many people are outraged at this dumbass for being in jail when she will have a charmed life after she gets out. Most other people aren't so lucky. Can you imagine being in jail, even for a week? Besides the obvious element of being uncomfortable and generally unpleasant, you would most likely lose your job, be stigmatized and have a permanent mark on your criminal record. A lot of people without resources to back them up suffer greatly because of these harsh realities. Paris Hilton will escape all of that. She has no job, no responsibilities and millions of dollars in the bank. This bitch will be alright. Why does she deserve special treatment just because she's a celebrity? If anything, she should probably go to jail for longer, just to make an example of her.
However, this morning, she was released after serving only three days of a forty-five day sentence. From what I understand, she has been "reassigned" to electronic home monitoring. While I argue that this is the proper punishment for the crime, it's not really the law. In this case, the prison officials are exercising their discretion, which is wonderful, but swift justice is all too uncommon in America, especially in California. I have heard stories of people who have been held in custody for way too long for their crimes, or who have waited for over six months after being released on parole-- being imprisoned even though they are technically free. Now this girl gets out swiftly and gets a punishment that actually fits the crime when so many suffer just because they're not a dumb ass celebutante.
Obviously, the criminal justice system is thoroughly fucked up. It's overcrowded, overburdened and severely underfunded. But when fame and celebrity influence decisions that should be equal across all lines, that's when the American public should realize that there is a severe problem with every step in the process.