# Lindsay Lohan - why isn't she in prison? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426 "2013-05-03T16:35:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/21 "2013-05-03T19:55:50Z")
I like to think it’s so that she doesn’t corrupt all the women she’d be locked up with. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/22 "2013-05-03T20:24:59Z")
If Lindsay’s life were a movie, it’d actually go something like this. **Narrator:** _IN A WORLD_ where celebrities are given lighter punishments… [record scratch] **Spunky Best Friend:** Aww, hell no! [Celebrities actually spend more time in jail than “regular” people for the same crimes.](http://www.eonline.com/news/367190/why-lindsay-lohan-isn-t-getting-special-treatment-from-the-law-mostly) Can you believe that? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/23 "2013-05-04T07:03:19Z")
How many of her, um, missteps were felonies? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/24 "2013-05-04T07:11:25Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > A rich, **attractive** , white woman. A better question might be, how many people would Lindsay need to murder before she could be jailed? I suppose it depends on if they are rich pretty white girls, or ugly poor black guys. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/25 "2013-05-04T07:14:29Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > How many of her, um, missteps were felonies? Read the link I posted. None of her court appearances were due to a felony. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/26 "2013-05-04T08:05:39Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s basically a race at this point to her either getting help or killing herself (or someone else). She’ll be 27 in a couple of months. I expect she’s on a lot of Death Pool lists. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/27 "2013-05-04T23:20:34Z")
People who like drugs should be given all the facilities to take what whatever drugs they like in a secure environment in a hospital room they could hire by the day. I don’t care whether they die: I do care that moralistic morons want to wreck their lives by punishing them for taking substances the morons don’t approve of. They’re gonna die anyway. Not everybody accepts this, because individuals have a sneaking suspicion that they personally will live forever; but the death of a druggie or of a moralist is no great deal in a very large world where millions of creatures die unhappily each day. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/28 "2013-05-05T02:11:59Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Read the link I posted. None of her court appearances were due to a felony. According to your link, the allegation of a necklace theft was originally a felony but reduced by the judge to a misdemeanor. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/29 "2013-05-05T02:39:50Z")
While it’s easy to assume she is not in jail because she is rich, the truth is people who are frequently convicted of minor offenses don’t spend a lot of time in jail. Spend some time in any courtroom and you’ll see defendants who are practically on a first name basis with the security. None of them were in “Mean Girls” and yet they manage to walk around free with records as long as your arm. It’s just not legally easy, or economically feasible, to lock up people who habitually commit minor offenses. Someone not famous who did the same shit would almost certainly not spend much time in jail. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/30 "2013-05-05T03:45:17Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > My internet-rumor-site reading of Lindsay Lohan news backs this up. She apparently spends much of her time mooching off of rich “friends”. She also seems to steal a lot of stuff, including a fur coat from some other woman in a nightclub (at least she got caught that time and had to give the coat back). And then there’s the rumor that she’s a high-priced callgirl, and that’s the reason why Charlie Sheen has given her large amounts of cash. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/31 "2013-05-05T04:27:43Z")
She is approaching the point where she may become uninsurable for the projects she is in. Most of her recent ‘movies’ have been pretty low budget and the insurance is beginning to cut into the potential profit from these films. “Liz and Dick” was a fairly low budget flop that the producers had to fork out an undisclosed amount of insurance money for, probably too much. It is called Cast Insurance and is taken out to cover lost time that might occur due to the star getting injured or ill during production. The star might break a leg or something and delay production or need to be replaced. This is standard practice. Insuring her must be approaching the point of no returns, money wise. > **[How Do Movie Producers Insure Lindsay Lohan And Other Troubled Stars?](https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/01/14/169367312/how-do-movie-producers-insure-lindsay-lohan-and-other-troubled-stars)** > > Movie producers get insurance to protect against the risk an actor might get hurt or sick while filming. Stars like Lohan often require more customized products that account for other risks — like the risk of incarceration. With Lindsay’s waning talent and increasing issues there will come a point when all she is capable of selling is People Magazines. Works pretty well for the Kardashians, so she will have some level of Hollywood income, but employability as a lead movie star is pretty much over. And she has reached the expiration point in age for a starlet without talent. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/32 "2013-05-05T05:52:10Z")
Color me cynical, but I can’t help but wonder how much of this has been cooked up by her press agent to publicize her next movie. He deserves a big hand–right across the mouth. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/33 "2013-05-05T05:59:42Z")
Shawn Holley deserves a lot of credit for keeping Lindsay out of prison. Shawn was a protege of Johnnie Cochran. She even had a small role in the OJ trial. Lindsay reached out to Shawn the day she reported to rehab. Shawn worked much of that evening and night getting her into Betty Ford and avoiding an arrest warrant. You can hire the best when you got the $$$$. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/34 "2013-05-05T06:08:07Z")
Also, Shawn seems to really care about Lindsay. She’s stuck by her for years and been embarrassed several times. Like getting fired and replaced last summer. But she keeps coming back as Lindsay’s lawyer. It can’t all be about the money. Shawn has a lot of other clients. Rare interview with Shawn. [http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-limelights/shawn-chapman-holley/](http://www.lawdragon.com/lawyer-limelights/shawn-chapman-holley/) ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/35 "2013-05-05T07:35:25Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Color me cynical, but I can’t help but wonder how much of this has been cooked up by her press agent to publicize her next movie. He deserves a big hand–right across the mouth. :mad: Can you explain why you would think this would be beneficial to her career? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/36 "2013-05-05T16:32:32Z")
Most of the stuff she’s done is relatively low level as crimes go, she just seems to have assembled a huge collection of them. In reading [the epic NYT article](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/magazine/here-is-what-happens-when-you-cast-lindsay-lohan-in-your-movie.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0) it’s not clear if the issue is that she really, really likes drugs and alcohol and that’s what drives the chaotic behavior, or there a mental or personality issue at play that underlies the impulse not to follow anyone’s directions. In looking at past celebrities with similar behavioral problems like Britney Spears and Robert Downey Jr. a lot of people thought it was mental, but the main problem was that they were consuming massive quantities of hard drugs and their hangers on sheltered and supplied them. When they kicked the drugs they straightened out. Downey spent years of hard time in jail, Spears was saved by her Dad who effectively took over the life and booted out the parasites. I don’t think either of Lohan’s parents are going to be white knights anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/37 "2013-05-05T18:21:44Z")
> [@colander](#): > > Can you explain why you would think this would be beneficial to her career? If you mean Lindsay Lohan’s career, it would be beneficial in terms of the people who hear about her clashes with the law and go to see her movie. I don’t know whether this is relevant to her talent or even if she has any. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/38 "2013-05-05T18:29:45Z")
Worst comes to worst, she can always be a high-dollar call girl. [Oh, wait. She already is.](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2256810/Lindsay-Lohan-paid-100k-attend-Brunei-princes-NYE-party.html) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/39 "2013-05-06T11:05:31Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Worst comes to worst, she can always be a high-dollar call girl. > > [Oh, wait. She already is.](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2256810/Lindsay-Lohan-paid-100k-attend-Brunei-princes-NYE-party.html) Yeah, that’s not what that article says. Unless Lionel Richie is also a high-priced gigolo. [Wait, I can see it.](https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/1201899084/Lionel_Richie_s_Clay_Head_Twitpic.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426/40 "2013-05-06T11:30:30Z")
Meh. I’d party with her, but I’d keep a close eye on my valuables and I wouldn’t be a passenger in her car. But I know a few people that I’d say the same thing about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lindsay-lohan-why-isnt-she-in-prison/657426.md?page=3)