Cameron Douglas is going to prison for his role in a high-level New York City meth ring — but he’s escaped sentencing laws that would have kept him behind bars for up to a decade, according to The Associated Press.
The pleas from friends and family seeking leniency for Michael Douglas’ only son with ex-wife Diandra Douglas apparently worked. Calling it his “last chance to make it,” Federal Judge Richard Berman sentenced the 31-year-old strugglin actor to just five years in prison on drug dealing charges on Tuesday.
Cameron’s parents, stepmother Catherine Zeta-Jones, and 93-year-old grandfather, Spartacus actor Kirk Douglas all sent letters to the court in hopes of persuading the judge to go easy on the troubled Hollywood celebuspawn.
In Michael Douglas’ five-page handwritten letter, the Wall Street actor explains that Cameron’s problems are, in part, due to a privileged but difficult childhood as well as feelings of inadequacy as the son and grandson of Oscar winners.
“I have some idea of the pressure of finding your own identity with a famous father,” Michael wrote. “I’m not sure I can comprehend it with two generations to deal with.”
The Hollywood star remarked that he’s “cherished” weekly two-hour visits to his son in jail over the past eight months.
“I get to witness the wonderful young man he can be,” the elder Douglas wrote.