Should Paris Hilton Go to Jail?

Why should Paris Hilton go to jail? In recent years, the rich, famous, and politically powerful have not had to suffer the indignity of punishment for breaking the law. A United States President can lie to a Grand Jury and not go to jail. A politician can steal irreplaceable documents from the National Archives and not go to jail. Why should Paris Hilton go to jail?

Why not just levy a fine against Paris Hilton every time she breaks the law? Shouldn't fines be enough? Perhaps not. Is there a fine large enough that Paris would suffer some when she had to pay it? A fine is usually designed to cause just enough suffering so it will serve as a deterrent to breaking that law again. A fine should deter Paris and act as a warning to others that if you break that same law you will suffer in a similar manner. A fine can serve as a deterrent to more than one person. How high would the fine need to be to act as a deterrent to Paris Hilton? Is there a fine so large for her offenses that she or her parents would suffer some when paying it? Probably not. A fine for Paris Hilton would not accomplish what fines are designed to achieve. A fine might even be laughable for Paris and encourage her to think she can keep on breaking the law with impunity (for the fines would probably be insignificant to her).

Why not put Paris under probation each time she breaks the law or require her to undergo counseling. Then, if she breaks the law again, she would suffer the consequences of the court warning her once again to not break the law or suffer worse consequences. Putting some people on probation is a sufficient deterrent to breaking the law again. The courts tried probation with Paris Hilton, but probation did not serve as a deterrent to her future law breaking.

If fines and probation would not work to help Paris Hilton learn to obey the law, then it appears spending time in jail is the only hopeful deterrent for her. At least for the time she is living in jail others will be safe from possible injury or death due to her driving. Perhaps spending time in jail will serve as the deterrent to future law breaking, where nothing else would work or has worked in the past with her.

With good reason, the Lord spoke to Moses and said, "You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor" (Leviticus 19:15-NRSV). If Paris Hilton does eventually go to jail, then our government would not be showing deference to the great (the rich, famous, and politically powerful) once again. The nation might return to judging others with justice. Confidence in the U.S. judicial system might improve. In addition, Paris Hilton might learn how to behave through the infliction of impartial justice in her behalf. We should hope that time in jail will help her in both the short term and the long term to make the changes in her life that she needs to make.