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LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton is being treated for psychological problems in the Los Angeles jail she was sent back to by a judge yesterday.
Hilton has not eaten or slept since arriving at the medical wing of a Los Angeles jail and is being given psychoactive drugs,
celebrity Web site TMZ.com reported today, citing law enforcement sources.
The 26-year-old "has been crying a lot, praying" and is "extremely withdrawn", TMZ reported.
Nevertheless, the socialite and hotel heiress said in a statement today that she had told her attorneys not to appeal the order that sent her back to jail after a day of house arrest.
"Being in jail is by far the hardest thing I have ever done," Hilton, 26, said in a written statement issued by her attorney, Richard Hutton. "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."
In the statement, Hilton thanked her fans for their good wishes and said she missed her family.
Hilton, whose face has graced the pages of gossip magazines for much of the last four years, also said she was "shocked" by the attention her case has received.
"I would hope going forward that the public and the media will focus on more important things like the men and women serving our country in Iraq and other places around the world," she said.
Hilton was visited by her psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Sophy, for more than two hours on Saturday morning. She was being held in a room by herself with a glass door that is guarded at all times, the report said.
A sobbing Hilton was ordered back to jail as a judge overruled a sheriff's decision to place the hotel heiress under house arrest for psychological problems after she spent three days behind bars.
The 26-year-old celebrity trembled and cried quietly throughout the hearing, then broke into loud sobs when the judge ordered her back into custody.
"Mom, Mom. It's not right," she wailed as she was led out of the courtroom. Her mother, Kathy Hilton, also sobbed.
But rather than return immediately to the sprawling women's detention centre where she began serving an expected three-week term for violating probation in a drunken-driving case, Hilton was taken to the medical wing of a Los Angeles jail.
Sheriff Lee Baca said she will be treated there for the unspecified psychological problems that had led him to "reassign" Hilton on Thursday to home confinement with an electronic monitoring device on her ankle.
The sheriff's decision sparked national outrage and accusations of preferential treatment for a celebrity, though Hilton's original 45-day sentence was considered by many to be excessive.
"Her medical condition was deteriorating and we didn't know how to fix it," Baca, who oversees the county's jail system, said at a news conference defending his move to place Hilton under house arrest.
"We have her in the correctional treatment centre -- that is a special wing. I am not going to say exactly what her mental problem is," he added.
Hilton was returned to custody after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer ordered her to complete her sentence in jail, rejecting arguments that Baca had the discretion to "reassign" inmates to house arrest for health reasons without court review.
Symbol of celebrity culture excess
The ruling marked a stunning turn of fortune for the multimillionaire socialite who has become a symbol of privilege and the excesses of America's celebrity culture.
"Let's not make a judicial or criminal justice football out of this woman," Baca said.
Baca said Hilton was scheduled to serve another 18 days behind bars under a standard credit applied against her term for time served on good behaviour.
The star of the television reality show "The Simple Life" was sentenced to jail last month for violating probation in a drunken-driving case by driving on a suspended license.
The exact nature of Hilton's condition remained a mystery. Baca said she had not been taking prescribed medication for a psychological problem but declined to elaborate.
The sheriff denied Hilton was given preferential treatment, saying that under an early release program established to ease overcrowded jails she was actually serving more time than other inmates in the same low-level category.
"Under our early release program, she would not have served any time in our jail, or would have been directly put on our home electronic monitoring system," he said. "So the special treatment, in a sense, appears to be ... more time in jail."
Friday's court hearing was delayed two hours due to confusion over whether Hilton would testify by video from her Hollywood Hills home, or in person. Finally, she was handcuffed and placed weeping into a sheriff's car for the trip to court wearing drab gray sweatpants and no make-up.
Judge Sauer said the sheriff's department never gave him any documentation of Hilton's condition. "I at no time condoned the action of the sheriff," Sauer said from the bench.
The City Attorney's Office said Baca overstepped his authority and should be held in contempt of court for violating the judge's sentencing order, which prohibited house arrest or work release.
Celebrity Web site TMZ.com said Hilton's lawyer was planning to appeal her sentence.
- REUTERS
