Celebrity Justice
Sheriff: Paris' Life Was "Definitely in Danger"

In an exclusive interview with TMZ, L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca revealed that he reassigned Paris Hilton to house arrest because he feared her life was "definitely in danger."

Baca said, "When people are not functioning normally, they're not eating normally, they don't have a sense balance in their lives, God only knows what could happen." He added, "We've had plenty of people die in the county jail system, not because of anything we did, but because we didn't understand the medical problem."

Sheriff Baca came under fire for releasing Paris early to serve the remainder of her sentence under house arrest. Baca was questioned about that decision by the L.A. Board of Supervisors today.

Tags: lee baca, LeeBaca, paris hilton, ParisHilton

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(Page 2 of 5) Previous 15 Comments | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

16. Sherrif Goober, are you a moron, that is why we call it prison. Prison is supposed to be a deterent to people so they do not commit criminal acts.

Posted at 10:36PM on Jun 26th 2007 by steve

17. How the hell could paris life have been in jeapordy jail when she was given her own private cell from the beginning, becasue of her celebiity? Had this been the 'everyday" person we would have been thrown in with the rest of the lions in the den. i can agree that there are some people who may have wanted to harm her becasue of who she is. But she was secure from the start.

Posted at 9:37PM on Jun 26th 2007 by valerie

18. Oh big BULL S***. HE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE OTHER LOW PROFILE JAIL SUFFERERS. PITIFUL. ABSOLUTELY PITIFUL. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE COMPASSION SHOWN ON OTHER POOR INMATES. THEY SHOULD HATE LITTLE MISS PARIS THE SICKO. THE BIMBO B*****.

Posted at 9:49PM on Jun 26th 2007 by Demi

19. My sister committed suicide in jail. no one watched her closely, no one let her out early becasue of a .despondent 'medical condition' (which it was) Im not saying paris Hilton should have been ignored like this, I dont wish anyone to die as my sister did due to the depression she suffered as a result of being in jail. Paris obviously got 100 % better treatment and was watched over .better than most members of the general public wouldve been.

Posted at 9:56PM on Jun 26th 2007 by jessica

20.
Paris simply does NOT HAVE COPING SKILLS for regular society....

Yes, her parents fault... and 26 is still a fine time to learn real coping skills. It seems to me that she is grateful for her time there, has been duly humbled and perhaps has gained a few years of life experience in her short 23 days...

Have you ever known anyone who went haywire after a few days of not taking their ADD meds? My doc says that would be a rarity indeed... Many say she ony takes it (adderall) as it is a well-known appetite suppressant, though, WHO COULD DENY SHE HAS ZERO ATTENTION SPAN?! ;-}

She skipped out of there just fine last night, she was well enough today to have a set of minders and handlers to her residence.. and don;t we all know... IF YOU HAVE DEPRESSION, the LAST THING YOU WANT IS to have PEOPLE AROUND.. No, you want to hunker down, be alone, lay low...

..and soon she will be on TV.. you know she will not cancel.... UGH!

Posted at 10:04PM on Jun 26th 2007 by Lisa E

21. He is such the liar! I know for a fact that they do not release every Inmate that goes on a hunger strike if any at all of course besides Paris! I used to work as a Correctional Officer in Jail and in Prisons and it is very common for Inmates to go on hunger strikes when they do not get their way! However, I have never seen any Inmate released for refusing to eat! The truth is that Paris' Grand Father donated money to Sheriff Bacas re-election campaign and he was returning the favor by releasing Paris because she was throwing a tantrum, refusing to eat, sleep, pee, or poop. She was not sick but just being the spoiled rotten brat that she is!

Posted at 10:10PM on Jun 26th 2007 by Andrea

22. In case you haven't heard Bill Zanker President and Founder of "The Learning Annex" has offered Paris Hilton one million dollars to teach a one hour class on "Building your own Brand." They are offering Paris even more money than Donald Trump has been paid as their star instructor! The story is at TMZ.com and is titled "Professor Paris." You can also find a similar article at Thesuperficial.com. I think that this is totally ridiculous considering the fact that Paris is not only a high school dropout but also writes like a first grader! I think Bill Zanker is a complete idiot! You know the old saying "A Fool and his money will soon part!" I would like to know what Paris is qualified to teach? What has she accomplished on her own? Bill refers to Paris as a Brilliant Entrepeneur! What is so brilliant about Paris? Her lack of education? Her handwriting?Her amateur porn video? Lets not forget the fact that she was totally irresponsible and ended up in jail for violating her probation on more than one occasion! I think that everyone should email this Bill Zanker and tell him what we think of Paris Hilton teaching a class for a million dollars! Maybe if he recieves enough emails it will be like her Million Dollar interview with NBC! CANCELED! Please everyone send your emails to williamz@learningannex.com ASAP! Lets stop Paris from making a million dollars as a teacher when she herself does not have an education!

Posted at 10:08PM on Jun 26th 2007 by Andrea

23. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha OK Breathe.... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Oh, my sides ache!!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haOk, now I have to winkie!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.... Sir, YOU ARE A JOKE!!!!!

Posted at 10:45PM on Jun 26th 2007 by Ask Me How I REALLY Feel

24. I just want to thank you, Sheriff Baca! Because you released Paris early for a medical condition, you revealed to the WHOLE WORLD that Paris is a TOTAL NUT JOB ! ! ! She should've had her picture on the billboard with Britney. If you had let her tough it out, that might have just been a prison rumor. Thank you for showing EVERYONE on the planet how screwed up she REALLY IS ! ! !

Posted at 11:36PM on Jun 26th 2007 by HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY!

25. The Sheriff is the only one who tried to be fair and impartial. Good job, you were very brave to stand by your conviction to do the right thing and have a low level, nondangerous offender treated like anyone else. I work for the county system and know how hard the internal politics can be. Felons do not get the time she did. The whole thing was a joke. LA County can't put away the big fish (OJ), but their courts can do serious damage to a debutante.

Posted at 11:45PM on Jun 26th 2007 by meg

26. Post number 21 – I would agree. She is not an entrepreneur. She is a product. There is a big difference. Having her teach about building your brand would be like having a can of Chicken of the Sea tuna teach a cooking class. It’s a product that is well known by it’s name.

I would pay to hear Trump talk about building a business or Colin Powell talk about leadership (actually he gives a great class on leadership in business) but Paris talk about building a brand??! Only a fool would fall for that one.

The Learning Annex should be more responsible with the seminar’s they offer and what they take money for. Obviously they do not care if anyone actually benefits from the seminars they offer. Thus, if someone is looking to get something for their money such as implied by their name they should look elsewhere. Go to a seminar that is given by people with a good track record of brand building. Go to a seminar offered by a company that cares whether or not the folks they have teaching those seminars can actually offer something of value to those who pay to attend. Not by a company irresponsible enough to take your money for a seminar that they know you will not benefit from.

If she were an expert on brand building they would have offered her a spot long before this. The timing should tell you that you would not benefit from it.


Oh yeah... and the Sheriff's pants are on fire...

Posted at 12:26AM on Jun 27th 2007 by GailB

27. Post 26 - Ok, hey I think OJ did it and got away with it... But it was a jury of his peers that aquitted him. Big difference. Paris plead guilty because even the best attorneys can't change bad facts. Then she violated probation. And you do not get probation for violating probation. You get jail time. The sheriff was not fair and impartial.

You know the symbol with the scales and lady justice wearing the blindfold?? That is supposed to mean that justice is blind... That regardless of creed, color, wealth, standing in the community, who you are or what you are, that the law is applied the same...

Posted at 12:27AM on Jun 27th 2007 by GailB

28. LEE BACA DEFINITELY TRYING TO SAVE FACE. IS HE TRYING TO SAY SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE IN JAIL WHO WAS SICK AND NOT EATING. THERE ARE A LOT MORE IN JAIL, THAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD HAS IT WORST THAN THAT. IF THERE WAS A MENTAL ISSUE SHE SHHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO THE SAME MENTAL FACILITY SHE WENT TO ANYWAY.
IF HE HAD RELEASED SOME OF THE OTHER ONES WHO HAS THE SAME MENTAL ANGUISH OR HAD DIABETES OR ANY SICKNESS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN UNDERSTANDABLE, BUT TO RELEASE JUST THE ONE, WHOSE RICH FATHER
MADE DONATIONS TO LEE BACA'S CHARITY, NOW THAT IS JUST BEING DOWNRIGHT
A FAVOR HER OWED AND WAS HOPING FOR MORE IN THE FUTURE. LEE BACA IS
A TURD..

Posted at 2:04AM on Jun 27th 2007 by FIJINATIVE007

29. X MAN say

PARIS --you mean so much to peeps who have so little.Market your brand, girl, THINK:a TWINKIE WORLD SHOPPING TOUR !
X CreMent
all about what celebs are all about

Posted at 2:30AM on Jun 27th 2007 by X Crement

30. #19
Sorry to hear your story. The high profile precluded any real danger to Paris except through incompetence. If only such care would be shown or all.

X

Posted at 2:54AM on Jun 27th 2007 by X Crement

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