Paris Hilton’s attorney has confirmed that the heiress has been “doing very well” during her first days in prison. Paris surrendered herself to authorities around 10.30pm on Sunday evening and attorney Richard Hutton said yesterday that it was Paris’ idea to submit herself late on Sunday night rather than the predicted Monday morning: “Paris didn’t want to make a media circus out of the event. She just wanted to quietly start serving her time.”

After having her jail mugshot taken - still in full make-up and with styled hair from her earlier appearances at the MTV Movie Awards, she was given the short-sleeved orange jumpsuit she’ll wear for the duration of her stay and taken to her 12×8 cell for the first time around midnight. Prison officials described her as “co-operative, focused and calm” during the booking-in process.

Hutton added: “She’s doing very well under the circumstances. The staff here have reported that she has been gracious, polite, and thankful for helping her.” “Her attitude is: ‘I’m going to come in here, I’m going to do my time, get it over with, and I’m going to show the world who I really am.’ She’s using this time to reflect on her life, to see what she can do to make the world better.”

Hutton confirmed that Paris has been placed in “administrative segregation” for her own safety but that really means “she’s in isolation for 23 of the 24 hours of the day. And ask yourself, for what? For driving on a suspended license as a probation violation. This is unjust, unfair, and she really is, unfortunately, a victim of a system that we pride so much on being fair.”

“But for Paris Hilton it is not. Finally, my client’s reaction to this has been fantastic. I’m very, very proud of her.”