Paris Hilton said her time behind bars had an influence on her approach to life, and she apparently plans to back-up her claims that she's changed now that she's been released.
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"[Those who doubt that I'll change after my prison experience] are wrong and they don't know me," Hilton told People magazine in her first post-prison interview. "I'm a good person. I'm a compassionate person. I have a big heart. I'm sincere, and they'll see."
The 26-year-old hotel heiress and socialite was released from Century Regional Detention Facility early Tuesday morning after serving 23 days of a 45-day sentence that resulted from parole violations of a September 2006 drunken driving conviction.
"Just being able to hug my mom felt so great, and I really needed it 'cause I haven't had a hug in a long time," Hilton told People, according to interview excerpts the magazine released Wednesday. Hilton's full interview will appear in People's July 9 issue.
Hilton initially began to serve her 45-day sentence on Sunday, June 3 after attending the MTV Movie Awards, however she was reassigned to home confinement only three days later due to what the Sheriff's Department termed "severe medical problems" that the prison system couldn't handle and -- due to privacy laws -- weren't able to publicly disclose.
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"The doctors were observing me while I was there," she told People. "They explained to Sheriff [Lee] Baca that they thought I was having severe anxiety, panic attacks, claustrophobia."
However despite Baca's decision, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer's May 4 sentencing ruling had specifically stated that Hilton should not be eligible for early reason or electronic monitoring -- so The Simple Life star was taken back to court for a June 8 hearing in which Sauer ruled that Hilton be put back behind bars for the reminder of her sentence.
"I was basically in the fetal position, basically in hysterics," Hilton told People of her first few nights behind bars.
It may have been hard for Hilton to be cut-off from her pampered lifestyle, away from friends and family members, however she said she was able to better cope with the situation due to the other female inmates she was surrounded by.
"All of the inmates were very supportive," she told People. "There were girls next to me. We could talk through the vents and they were just really sweet."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio