Paparazzi are the banes in the existence of every celebrity, big or small. After all, they follow them around during the private moments of their lives and record everything with bright flashes from their cameras. There’s no escape from a determined paparazzi that needs to score a celebrity’s picture in order to make a living.

Still, as annoying as they are, celebrities should know that attacking them probably isn’t a good idea, because they can and will press charges against them. Hip-hop superstar Kanye West learned this lesson the hard way yesterday when he was formally charged with vandalism, battery and grand theft after smashing a paparazzi’s camera at the Los Angeles airport back in September 2008.

If convicted on all three counts, West faces up to 2.5 years in prison, which is an absurd amount of jail time for breaking someone’s property. Why don’t they simply fine him for the cost of the equipment, plus punitive damages, and call it a day?

This reeks of a publicity stunt on the part of the legal system, which probably just wants to make an example out of West for his actions against the paparazzi. I mean, I hate Kanye West as much as the next guy, but any amount of jail time served for this incident would be excessive.