Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was released from prison on Thursday for medical reasons after serving just over three days of a 23-day sentence but she will be confined to her home for 40 days, officials said.
Steve Whitmore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office said Hilton had been ”reassigned” though he declined to give specific information on her medical condition for privacy reasons.
Hilton, a symbol of privilege and American celebrity culture, will have to wear an electronic monitoring device on her ankle to ensure she does not go out for the next 40 days.
”With extensive consultation with medical personnel it was decided this reassignment should be done,” Whitmore told reporters in Los Angeles.
The 26-year-old hotel heiress and star of reality television show The Simple Life was originally sentenced to 45 days for violating probation, but that was cut to 23 days for good behaviour.
Hilton was arrested on charges of drunken driving in September.
In January, she pleaded no contest — the equivalent of a guilty plea — to a reduced charge of alcohol-related reckless driving. She was sentenced to three years’ probation and had her licence suspended.
But she was caught driving on a suspended licence in February when police stopped her for speeding and with her headlights off at night. A traffic court judge ruled on May 4 that Hilton’s latest offence constituted a probation violation.
Hilton turned herself in late on Sunday night, just hours after attending the MTV Movie Awards near Hollywood, where she was the butt of comedians’ jokes.
She was released in the early hours of Thursday and the sheriff said she would be credited with five days’ incarceration, including Sunday and Thursday, even though she actually only spent three full days in prison.
Before she entered prison, a contrite Hilton admitted to feeling scared.
”This is an important point in my life and I need to take responsibility for my actions. In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make … Although I am scared, I am ready to begin my jail sentence.” — Reuters