Why It Pays to Be a Star: 90 Days for Manslaughter!

In December last year, 'Prison Break' star Lane Garrison (who played the part of 'Tweener' in the series until he got killed off) was involved in a very serious car accident that resulted in the death of a 17-year old boy who was sitting in the passenger seat next to the driver, Garrison. Also in the same crash were also involved two minor girls, whom the actor had picked up in front of a liquor store and later invited to a party.

Initially, the details of the accident were a bit blurry: seeing that one of the four persons involved was dead, two severely injured in the hospital and only Lane available for comment, all that the public was privy to was his side of the story. Although he was heavily intoxicated at the time the crash took place, the actor claimed he was not behind the wheel (although the SUV was registered to his name) and that the boy who died was driving. Until a few days later, when new evidence came out to show that Garrison was, indeed, responsible for the tragic event of that night, the actor claimed he was innocent.

Days later, he was charged with DUI and vehicular manslaughter, and rumor had it that the DA was going to ask that he spend the next four years of his life in jail. Garrison, in return, pleaded guilty to all charges and was getting ready to face the music - and nothing works better for that than a couple of well orchestrated publicity stunts. First, there were photos of him crying his eyes out as he was exiting a church. Then, a video showing him expressing his undying remorse and, again, crying his eyes out. And, yesterday, his testimony in front of the judge. Again, there was a lot of crying.

While the general opinion is that Garrison is actually feeling sorry for what he did, there are some who can't help thinking that his 'sentence' was like a slap on the wrist for his deed. After all, he was a grown-up man who bought alcohol to three minors, took them in his car even though he was completely intoxicated and could barely walk on his own and was planning to take them to one of his Hollywood star-studded bashes when the crash that killed one of the teenagers occurred. And, he lied!

All that Garrison got as a sentence is a 90-day stint in jail, during which time he will be evaluated by a team of shrinks and other specialists who, at the end of the term, will decide whether he is fit for parole. That practically means that, after three months, a man who is the sole responsible for the death of a young boy will walk free! And they said it doesn't pay to be a star! Or, as the boy's dad tried to point out on the stand yesterday: 'He is an actor. He is acting. He killed a human being and he killed our son. Yesterday was one of the hardest days. It was Vahagn's birthday. He would have been 18.'