Hilton: "I'm Ready To Face the Consequences"

Socialite Paris Hilton has hit back at criticism she is refusing to take responsibility for driving with a suspended license, insisting she is "ready to face the consequences." The 26-year-old is set to spend 45 days in a California correctional facility after she was found guilty in court last Friday of violating terms of her 2006 drink-driving arrest. At the hearing, Hilton claimed her long-term representative Elliot Mintz had repeatedly informed her that her license had been suspended for only 30 days and that she could still drive for work-related matters. But Hilton, who is in the process of appealing her jail sentence, wants to make clear she realizes how serious driving under the influence is.

She says: "After reading the media's coverage of my court hearing, I feel the need to correct what I believe are misperceptions about me. I absolutely realize how serious driving under the influence is. I could not live with myself if anyone was injured or killed while I was driving while impaired. Clearly, no one should - no matter how slightly. I am ready to face the consequences of violating probation. No one is above the law. I surely am not. I do not expect to be treated better than anyone else who violated probation. However, my hope is that I will not be treated worse."