Nicole goes to prison

[Mary Jane 49]

Nicole goes to prisonHollywood star Nicole Richie entered prison yesterday to serve time for drink driving – only to be released a mere 82 minutes later.

The 25-year-old socialite was ordered to spend four days behind bars but left the facility just over an hour after being “processed”. The reason? Apparently, LA prisons are so overcrowded that there wasn’t enough room to fit petite Nicole in.
In this situation, prison guidelines urge authorities to release non-violent female offenders, whose jail term is 30 days or less, within 12 hours.
Undersheriff Larry Waldie from the prison department said Richie was treated like any other female inmate.
"The reality of overcrowding is that would have happened to any female inmate with a 96-hour sentence," he said. "They were told to treat her like any other inmate, and that is what happened here."

Nicole previously reached a plea deal with prosecutors over a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol after she was arrested for driving the wrong way on a motorway.
Under the terms of her plea, Nicole is required to serve a three-year probation term and pay a fine of $2,048.

[Refugee]

Justice has been served. Pffft.

[agirl]

What gets me even more than this is Lindsey Lohan. :mad: I don't care what they say, money buys your way out of alot of things.

[emmie]

I don't care how bloody crowded the women's prisons are, if it were you or me who had been sentenced you can bet your damn life they'd have made sure that WE did our full term!

[Echosoftom]

"The reality of overcrowding is that would have happened to any female inmate with a 96-hour sentence," he said. "They were told to treat her like any other inmate, and that is what happened here."
Now this part I'm inclined to believe. I have a good friend who started out as a guard for quite a few years at Sybil Brand jail. She's now an administrator. She says they let much worse than than Nicole Richie go for overcrowding. Unfortunately in L.A. jail overcrowding is a huge problem and the reality is, they don't have enough space to hold even the most hardened criminals. So people like drunk drivers and any other misdemeanors are the first ones to be released. So, as much as I hate to admit it, in this case it's probably what they would do with anyone in her predicament.

[surfnburn]

I think you're right, Sharon. We don't have a system or the resources to fulfill the legal promise of punishing jail drunk drivers. We have law enforcement and the court system; it ends there.