In Her Own Words, Hilton 'Learning and Growing'
Heiress tells lawyers not to appeal sentence, says she's "shocked" by attention.
June 10, 2007 — -- In a statement just a day after her frenzied return to jail after a brief period of home confinement, Paris Hilton said she won't appeal her imprisonment and is "shocked" by all the attention she has gotten recently.
"Today, I told my attorneys not to appeal the judge's decision," said Hilton's statement through an attorney Saturday, a day after she cried in public and hysterically called out for her mother in court.
"While I greatly appreciate the sheriff's concern for my health and welfare, I intend to serve my time at L.A. County Jail," her statement added.
Hilton said she was accepting jail as a learning experience.
"Being in jail is by far the hardest thing I have ever done," she said in the statement, according to The Associated Press. "During the past several days, I have had a lot of time to think and I believe that I am learning and growing from this experience."
But Harvey Levin of the entertainment Web site TMZ said Hilton is still miserable.
"She is a mess," he said. "She is despondent. We have a couple of law enforcement sources who have described her as a train wreck. She is distraught. She is not eating. She is not sleeping. She is, as one person put it, teetering on the brink."
Sheriff's officials said Hilton now has at least 15 days left to serve and her health is being evaluated in a medical ward. She may never be transferred to the general jail population.
Steve Whitmore, of the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, said he is unsure how long Hilton will remain in the treatment facility.
The 26-year-old socialite, who was sentenced to jail after a series of driving violations, urged the media in her statement to "focus on more important things like the men and women serving our country in Iraq."
But for many, this case is no longer just about her.
"What the concern of millions in our communities is not around the person of Paris Hilton, but around the fairness in how the justice system works," said Rev. Al Sharpton.
Now some wonder whether Hilton the party girl is now a symbol of a justice system in question.