Penn Asks Delay of Jail Term

Actor Sean Penn wants to delay or interrupt his 60-day jail term so he can complete work on film projects in West Germany and New York and a Los Angeles prosecutor said today she wouldn’t oppose the request because the actor “is different than the average defendant.”

Penn was sentenced two weeks ago for violating probation by driving recklessly and beating up an extra during filming of “Colors,” in which he plays a gang-battling policeman. Howard Weitzman, Penn’s attorney, told Deputy City Atty. Alice Hand that he is asking Municipal Court Commissioner Juelann Cathey to stay the sentence until late August. If Cathey allows it, Penn will leave the country Saturday, Hand said. “Someone is generally given time to put their affairs in order,” she said.