Tawny Kitaen in Trouble Again (Excerpted from Glenn's 12/5/06 E-Newsletter)
Some of you may recall the case of former pitcher Chuck Finley, who was a victim of domestic violence perpetrated by his then-wife, actress Tawny Kitaen.
Kitaen was arrested in April of 2002 for attacking Finley as he was driving the couple home. Police officers reported seeing abrasions and scrapes on Finley's body after Kitaen had allegedly kicked Finley repeatedly with her high-heeled shoes, grabbed his ear and twisted it, and put her foot on top of his, forcing the accelerator to the floor. After Kitaen's arrest, Finley was granted temporary custody of their two daughters, then ages nine and three.
Pam Sheek, a 51 year-old nanny who has cared for the Finley children for six years, made a sworn declaration shortly afterward stating that Kitaen has a severe prescription drug addiction and that her erratic and abusive behavior has often put the children at risk. She described an incident in March, 2002 when Kitaen turned on the gas in the gas fireplace log without lighting it and then called the two children to come into bed with her to go to sleep. Sheek, suspicious, entered the room and, smelling the gas, turned off the fireplace, probably saving the lives of both Kitaen and her children.
In September of 2003 Kitaen went on the Howard Stern Show and denied everything, claiming that she was the victim of abuse, and that she was getting railroaded. I criticized her for this on His Side with Glenn Sacks, and sure enough I got a letter from Kitaen the next week, telling me that I was wrong, irresponsible, unfair to her, etc.
A little while afterwards I was amazed but not surprised to see that Inside Edition did an interview exclusive with Kitaen shortly after the Stern Show, and in it Kitaen admitted that she had attacked Finley. Kitaen's letter of apology to me must have gotten lost in the mail.
Now Kitaen is back in trouble again. According to the E! Online article Tawny Kitaen's Cocaine Rap:
"Actress Tawny Kitaen, who was best known for a handful of '80s-era roles before supposedly clocking hubby Chuck Finley with her high-heeled shoes, was rung up Tuesday on a felony drug charge.
"Prosecutors said that the Bachelor Party bride-to-be is facing one count of possessing a controlled substance after police found 15 grams of cocaine in her apartment.
"According to Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, deputies showed up at Kitaen's San Juan Capistrano apartment to perform a 'welfare check' on her and her two daughters with Finley, Wynter and Raine.
"Police said that Kitaen was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time but that the children, ages 8 and 13, were home when officers arrived and found the cocaine.
"Kitaen, 45, who's scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 18, is facing up to three years in prison if convicted. But, she can avoid hard time if she qualifies for a drug diversion program and enters rehab, O.C. District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Susan Schroeder said.
"Whitesnake's favorite hood ornament pleaded guilty to attacking Finley, then a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, in 2002 in exchange for the court's dismissal of two misdemeanor spousal abuse charges. Kitaen agreed to attend anger management and conflict resolution counseling and donate $500 to a battered-women's shelter.
"The case wasn't closed until October 2003, however, when Kitaen issued a written apology for saying in an interview on The Howard Stern Show that she had been forced into a guilty plea. The onetime music video muse also denied having a drug problem, which Finley had alleged in court documents and Kitaen later admitted, saying she had developed an addiction to prescription meds for depression and migraines.
"Finley filed for divorce on Apr. 4, three days after he accused Kitaen of kicking him with her stiletto boots and viciously twisting his ear while the couple were driving to their home in Newport Beach..."
It's against my nature to ever sympathize with false accusers, and I doubt I'll ever be counted among Kitaen's supporters. Nevertheless, I certainly don't think she should go to jail for three years for possessing cocaine. Similarly, I don't believe we should be locking up hundreds of thousands of people--mostly minority males--for drug use, either.
Nobody despises drug abuse more than I, but I also believe that while our society insists on treating drug abuse as a criminal justice problem, it is in reality a public health problem. Many of these celebrity drug cases are a good example. Kitaen has screwed up her life with her drug addictions, yet she continues, and the criminal justice system's typical reaction--"she's broken the law, let's put her in jail" doesn't begin to address her real problem.
The Steve Howe and Daryl Strawberry cases are other examples. Both were immensely talented athletes who damaged/destroyed their careers because of their addictions. Logically, all three would do anything to get off of the stuff. I have to believe that the reason is not that they don't want to, but that they can't.
I suppose one could argue that locking them up separates them from their drugs, but I doubt this is true--there are plenty of drugs in prison. One time I heard a radio interview with an ex-convict who said that he used to sneak under the guard tower at his prison, meet his dealer and do his drugs. I remember thinking "here's a guy who's locked up in prison, surrounded by huge cement walls and barbed wire, standing underneath a tower with two guards and a machine gun, and he still got his drugs. Prison is not the answer."
