Michael Douglas: Son’s Jail Sentence Is a Blessing

Cameron Douglas, Michael Douglas’ eldest son, was recently sentenced to 5 years in jail after he pled guilty to drug trafficking and possession charges. Speaking on Today, Michael Douglas, who has already owned up to his share of the blame in his son’s problems, says he hopes the jail sentence will turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as People magazine informs.

Douglas’ current wife and Cameron’s step-mother, Catherine Zeta Jones, tried to plead with the judge to shorten the sentence but to little avail, especially since the troubled deejay and actor had already admitted he was guilty of the crimes he was charged with. According to Michael, who’s now promoting his upcoming film, “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps,” the jail sentence might actually help Cameron become more responsible in his actions and perhaps even beat his addiction to drugs.

“My son has not been sober for this length of time since he was 13 years old. So he was going to be dead or somebody was gonna kill him, and I think he has a chance to start a new life and he knows that. And from my understanding, it’s going to take that amount of time for him to rebuild and start himself afresh. He’s a great young man. And I wouldn’t be supporting him if I didn’t feel that way,” the veteran actor says of his troubled son.

In the same interview, Michael again claims his part of the blame for Cameron’s current situation. “I’ve taken blame about being a bad father – if being a bad father is working your [backside] off trying to create a career at one time. When I had Cameron I was early in my career and as opposed to most jobs, making movies takes you all around the world, so you were absentee in that sense. My priorities have completely changed. My marriage and my families come certainly before my career,” Michael Douglas says.

Even before Cameron was sentenced to prison time, his father was doing his best to look at the bright side of things. In an earlier interview, Michael said that he knew for a fact that Cameron’s legal troubles (even if he wouldn’t be sentenced to jail) would finally force him to face his demons, so that the entire family could hope for better days.