Paris Calls Barbara Walters from Jail

Hilton said jail and the chaos surrounding her sentence have made her realize she must clean up her act.

"I used to act dumb," she told Walters in the exclusive phone conversation. "That act is no longer cute. Now, I would like to make a difference. ... God has given me this new chance."

Hilton confirmed to Walters just how terrible her initial three days in jail were. It might explain why she cried when she was handcuffed and transported back to jail from her Hollywood home.

"I was not eating or sleeping," she said. "I was severely depressed and felt as if I was in a cage. ... It was a horrible experience."

The unusual jailhouse call came about because Kathy Hilton, Paris' mother, phoned Walters. During the conversation, Paris rang in on another line. When told that Kathy was talking to Walters, Paris said she'd like to speak to Walters herself.

Walters then agreed to accept a collect call from Paris in jail. All prisoners are required to call collect.

Nicky Hilton, Paris' younger sister, described the jailed debutante as "being strong" on her way out of a jailhouse visit on Sunday. In a statement earlier that day, Paris directed her lawyers not to appeal her sentence and urged the media to focus on more important things like Iraq.