Wesley Snipes has started his three-year sentence at a minimum security prison in Pennsylvania, following his conviction for tax evasion. The Blade star has spent two-year fighting his 2008 conviction for failing to file tax returns and recently lost an appeal and a request for a retrial.
He was ordered to report to authorities on Thursday, but his lawyers made a last-ditch attempt to keep Snipes out of prison by filing an emergency court motion in Florida on Wednesday, demanding a new trial following fresh revelations about jury misconduct during his 2008 case.
The request was due to be reviewed by a judge in Ocala, Florida, but the move failed to keep Snipes a free man as his deadline to surrender loomed and he checked in with Pennsylvania officials on Thursday.
The latest allegations about jury misconduct stem from claims made by an unnamed member of the 2008 jury, who had emailed Snipes’ lawyers earlier this year. The juror claimed three people on the panel had already made up their minds about Snipes before the trial had even begun.
