Analysis indicates Paris Hilton is receiving especially harsh treatment

The Los Angeles Times has this new article providing data-driven context for debates over whether Paris Hilton to receiving a special kind of justice.  Here are the highlights:

Paris Hilton will end up serving more time behind bars than the vast majority of inmates sent to L.A. County Jail for similar offenses, according to a Times analysis of jail records.  Whether Hilton received special treatment from the Sheriff’s Department has become the subject of much debate since Sheriff Lee Baca last week allowed the hotel heiress to go home after less than four full days in jail, despite a promise that she would serve 23 days of a 45-day sentence.

The Times analyzed 2 million jail releases and found 1,500 cases since July 2002 that — like Hilton’s — involved defendants who had been arrested for drunk driving and later sentenced to jail after a probation violation or driving without a license.  Had Hilton left jail for good after four days, her stint behind bars would have been similar to those served by 60% of those inmates.  But after a judge sent her back to jail Friday, Hilton’s attorney announced that she would serve the full 23 days. That means that Hilton will end up serving more time than 80% of other people in similar situations.

Now, if only the LA Times would conduct this analysis of the justice received in California by the hundreds of thousands of other persons behind bars who have a much lower Q rating than Ms. Hilton.

In a related vein, check out this interesting piece at Slate by Christopher Hitchens entitled “Siege of Paris: The creepy populism surrounding high-profile defendants.”