Expert: Jail Time, Rehab 'Best Thing' for Lohan
From Sheen to Hilton, jail has a spotty history of keeping celebs in line.
July 19, 2010 — -- As Lindsay Lohan reportedly spends time at lawyer Robert Shapiro's rehabilitation center and prepares to enter prison, an addiction expert said today that jail time and rehab could help the starlet take a turn for the better.
"It's the best thing that can happen to Lindsay because frankly, she's running out of options," William Moyers, vice president of the Hazelden Foundation, told "Good Morning America." "She should have as much opportunity to recover as anyone else, but often times for people it's the consequences which include jail time that allows them to wake up and take that personal responsibility to live a life of recovery."
For better or worse, celebrities are no strangers to stretches behind bars.
Starlet Nicole Richie battled a heroin addition before she was sentenced to four days in jail. Though she only served 82 minutes, Richie bounced back by starting a family and launching a clothing line.
Charlie Sheen's acting career has been coupled with decades of substance abuse and several stints in rehab. But even after years of treatment, Sheen spent this past Christmas in jail for assaulting his wife. He's also currently awaiting sentencing and could face several years in prison.
Paris Hilton famously served 23 days in jail in the summer of 2007 following a DUI conviction and driving with a suspended license. Three years later, Hilton is reportedly back in trouble with the law after she was detained and then released on the French island of Corsica this weekend accused of marijuana possession, according to French newspaper Corse Matin.
"Lindsay's jail sentence will be very similar to where Paris Hilton went," US Weekly senior editor Ian Drew said. "She will have a very sanitary living condition. It will be very white washed, very simple, very plain."
Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail in addition to 90 days of in-patient rehab in early July for violation of a 2007 probation she incurred after a DUI conviction.
Los Angeles Attorney Robert Shapiro
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