Former Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, must report to prison by May 4 to begin serving his 13-year sentence on bribery and public corruption charges, more than two years after he was convicted and almost seven years after news of a federal investigation of his dealings became public.
Judge T.S. Ellis III rejected a motion Friday by Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, and supported by lead prosecutor Mark Lytle, that Jefferson be allowed to wait until the Bureau of Prisons assigns him to a specific facility, a process that usually takes 30 to 90 days.
After 2½ years of freedom, Ellis said, it is time for Jefferson to go prison.
Ellis had allowed Jefferson to remain at liberty since his November 2009 sentencing while he appealed his conviction and the longest-ever corruption sentence for a congressional member. He ordered Jefferson to report to the U.S. Marshal's Service in New Orleans in two weeks if he hasn't received a prison assignment by then.
Ellis recommended the former nine-term congressman be assigned to a minimum-security prison, also known as a federal prison camp.
Minimum- and low-security prisons both provide dorm-like, bunk-bed accommodations. But an inmate's freedom of movement is significantly more restricted and there are fewer recreational facilities at a low-security prison compared with a camp.
Several sentencing experts said it is more likely that Jefferson will end up -- at least initially -- at a low-security prison, which is ringed by a fence. Bureau of Prisons guidelines limit minimum-security prisons to inmates with sentences of 10 years or less. That policy can be waived, but rarely is.
Jefferson, 65, was not in the courtroom for the brief hearing Friday. Calls to his New Orleans home were not answered.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/04/former_congressman_william_jef.html
:lol:
Finally justice will be served.
Judge T.S. Ellis III rejected a motion Friday by Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, and supported by lead prosecutor Mark Lytle, that Jefferson be allowed to wait until the Bureau of Prisons assigns him to a specific facility, a process that usually takes 30 to 90 days.
After 2½ years of freedom, Ellis said, it is time for Jefferson to go prison.
Ellis had allowed Jefferson to remain at liberty since his November 2009 sentencing while he appealed his conviction and the longest-ever corruption sentence for a congressional member. He ordered Jefferson to report to the U.S. Marshal's Service in New Orleans in two weeks if he hasn't received a prison assignment by then.
Ellis recommended the former nine-term congressman be assigned to a minimum-security prison, also known as a federal prison camp.
Minimum- and low-security prisons both provide dorm-like, bunk-bed accommodations. But an inmate's freedom of movement is significantly more restricted and there are fewer recreational facilities at a low-security prison compared with a camp.
Several sentencing experts said it is more likely that Jefferson will end up -- at least initially -- at a low-security prison, which is ringed by a fence. Bureau of Prisons guidelines limit minimum-security prisons to inmates with sentences of 10 years or less. That policy can be waived, but rarely is.
Jefferson, 65, was not in the courtroom for the brief hearing Friday. Calls to his New Orleans home were not answered.
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/04/former_congressman_william_jef.html
:lol:
Finally justice will be served.