Kirk Douglas asks judge for leniency on grandson's behalf

Kirk Douglas, patriarch of the family that includes Oscar-winner Michael Douglas and recently convicted drug trafficker Cameron Douglas, has asked a judge to take it easy on his grandson when delivering the 31-year-old's sentence later this month, BBC News reports. 

The 93-year-old described his visit to see his grandson behind bars: "I was gratified to see how well he was taking his incarceration. He had no one to blame but himself. He didn't express any self-pity, nor did he ask for any. The only sorrow he expressed was for the trouble he had caused others."

Cameron Douglas, People reports,  faces a “mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years” in prison after pleading guilty Jan. 27 to drug charges -- but the judge has some discretion, the magazine says. Cameron's attorney is asking for time served plus supervised release, or a sentence of just less than four years that would include drug treatment -- the argument being that his client became a meth middleman only to support his own heroin habit.

A letter from Michael Douglas ...

... was not made public by the court, though the record included input from Catherine Zeta-Jones, who called her stepson "an exceptional brother" to his half-siblings.

Also, a partially redacted appeal from Diandra Douglas, Cameron's mom, was offered: "[T]his is the most painful letter I've ever had to write. I am writing to you to plead for leniency in your sentencing of my son, the only blood relative I have left in this world." The New York Daily News noted this passage: "I must admit that my immediate reaction when I learned of my son's crime was one of guilt." She blamed herself, in part, for mistakes she made raising her son -- whose lawyers have placed blame for Cameron's drug addiction on his father's fame.

"Pappy" Kirk, at the end of his letter, took aim at the court's heartstrings: "I'm convinced Cameron could be a fine actor. ... I hope I can see that happen before I die. I love Cameron." 

Sentencing is scheduled for April 14.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photos: Kirk Douglas, left, attends the Vanity Fair party after the Academy Awards on March 7, 2010. Michael Douglas, right, leaves a federal courthouse with his son Cameron's attorney,  Nicholas DeFeis, on Jan. 29, 2010 in New York. Cameron Douglas had entered a guilty plea two days earlier. Credits: Craig Barritt / Getty Images, left; Mary Altaffer / Associated Press, right

Click here and scroll down for more from our celebrity justice archives. Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs) or become our fan on Facebook at facebook.com/ministryofgossip.