Paris liberated: celebutante completes jail term

A beaming Paris Hilton strolled out of jail Tuesday aftera stay of more than three weeks for violating probation on drivingoffencesin a bizarre legal melodrama thatsaw the billionaire heiress set free, then returned behind bars in a stream of tearsand screams.

Surrounded by a throng of cameras and reporters, the 26-year-oldHilton smiled broadly as she walked out of the all-women's jail in Lynwood, Calif., shortly after midnight PT.

Her parents, Kathy and Rick,embraced her, then led herto a black SUV as cameras snapped pictures.Hilton, wearing a sage jacket with white trim over a white shirt andskinny jeans, waved to the crowd before the vehicle sped away.

She didn't say anything, and it wasn't immediately clear where she was going.

"She fulfilled her debt. She was obviously in good spirits. She thanked people as she left," said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Accusations of special treatment

Hilton will complete her probation in March 2009 as long as she keeps her driver's licence current and doesn't break any laws.

She can reduce that time by 12 months if she does community service that could include a public-service announcement, the city attorney's office has said.

Hilton began a reduced, 23-day sentence on June 3 for violating her probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. She was mostly confined to a solitary cell in the special needs unit away from the other 2,200 inmates.

She spent only three days there and was released with electronic monitoring by Sheriff Lee Baca for an unspecified medical condition that he later said was psychological.

The following day Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer, who had originally sentenced the hotel heiress to 45 days in jail, called her back into court and ordered her returned to jail, saying he had not condoned her release.

Hilton left the courtroomweeping,calling for her mother and shouting, "It's not right!"

She was then taken to the downtown Twin Towers jail, which houses the county jail's medical treatment centre, where she underwent medical and psychiatric exams to determine where she should be confined.

Hilton's stay there cost taxpayers $1,109.78 US a day, more than 10 times the cost of housing inmates in the general population.

The move by Baca caused a firestorm of criticism over whether the celebrity received special treatment.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has launched an investigation into whether the multimillionaire received special treatment because of her wealth and fame.

A media frenzy also arose last week over which network would score the first post-prison interview with Hilton. The heiress is scheduled to be interviewed by CNN's Larry King on Wednesday.

'I used to act dumb'

Shortly after her incarceration, Hilton revealed in a phone call to Barbara Walters a new outlook on life.

"I used to act dumb. It was an act. I am 26 years old, and that act is no longer cute," Hilton said during the call, according to an account posted June 11 by Walters on ABC's website.

"It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me," Hilton was quoted as saying.

Hilton's path to jail began Sept. 7, when she failed a sobriety test after police saw her weaving down a street in her Mercedes-Benz on what she said was a late-night run to a hamburger stand.

She pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was sentenced to 36 months probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.

In the months that followed, she was stopped twice by officers who discovered her driving with a suspended licence. The second stop landed her in Sauer's courtroom, where he sentenced her to jail.