Wesley Snipes: Three Years For Three Misdemeanors

Proscutors got what they wanted: In Ocala, Florida on Thursday, US District Judge William Terrell Hodges sentenced actor Wesley Snipes to three years in prison. Snipes was convicted February 1 on three misdemeanor counts of failure to file federal income tax returns for 1999-2001 but acquitted on two felony tax counts and three more failure to file misdemeanor counts. Hodges sentenced Snipes to the maximum of one year on each count, to be served consecutively. He said “these are serious crimes, albeit misdemeanors, because he has a history of contempt over time.” Hodges also sentenced Snipes’ co-defendants Douglas Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, both convicted on the felony counts. Rosile was sentenced to 4 years and six months in prison and Kahn was sentenced to ten years in prison. Judge Hodges was obviously not swayed by a large number of celebrities asking him to sentence Snipes to probation. Among them were Woody Harrelson, Judge Joe Brown and Judge Greg Mathis. It’s hard to believe any federal judge would be influenced by requests from the son of Charles Harrison and two TV show judges. Bloomberg, Orlando Sentinel, DOJ (via PR Newswire).