>
>[WS:] Out of sheer curiosity, what is your position on this? Is it
>consistent with your general stance on incarceration i.e. you think
>she should not go to jail, or is an exception from that stance i.e.
>you think she should go to jail?
Ok. I'll bite, though I'll reserve judgement on whether this question comes from sheer curiosity.
My general stance on incarceration is not as simple as you present it, but that's no surprise. What I have said repeatedly (when I'm not fending off your accusations of being soft on criminals et. al.), is that there is something wrong in a country that has so many people incarcerated, that the system is in serious need of reform, and that criminal justice is wrongly used as our default system for dealing with social welfare problems. The consequences of that are devastating to convicts, their families, and their communities and the ripple effects are damaging to all of us.
That does not mean I think no one should be incarcerated. Nor do I think cops should Mirandize someone who's in the middle of a killing spree or whatever other similarly absurd characterization you might want to dream up.
As for Paris, she's facing 45 days in segregated custody. She'll be out before her hair changes color and I don't think her family will be evicted because they lost her income.
Personally, I'd rather see her wearing a signboard out in front of one of the clubs she frequents, but I haven't given it much more thought than that. I was in favor of freeing Martha Stewart though.