Wesley Snipes Reports to Prison Next Week

After years of appeals, a federal court judge has an answer for Wesley Snipes: Go to Jail. U.S. District Court William Terrell Hodges denied Snipes' most recent appeal last month, writing in his Order: "The Defendant Snipes had a fair trial; he has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his conviction and sentence by the Court of Appeals; and he has had a full, fair, and thorough review of his present claims, during all of which he has remained at liberty. The time has come for the judgment to be enforced."

This month, the Federal Bureau of Prisons officially set a report date for Snipes, ordering him to report to the Federal Correctional Institution McKean in Lewis Run, Pa., by noon on December 9. Snipes will then begin serving a three year sentence for tax evasion.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, McKean is a medium security facility housing male inmates and is located in northwest Pennsylvania between Bradford and Kane, Pa., approximately 90 miles south of Buffalo, N.Y.Upon his arrival, Snipes should be given a routine case management, medical and mental health screening. He'll then be provided with a copy of McKean's rules and regulations. Within 30 days of arrival, Snipes will be assigned to the admission and orientation (A&O) program, where he'll receive more information about McKean's policies and procedures. After completing orientation, he'll be given some kind of "appropriate work assignment." Institution landscape or food service jobs are usually the first assignment an inmate receives. Additional factory jobs may become available, but there's currently a waiting list for those assignments.

While in prison, Snipes won't be allowed to wear his own clothes, with a few exceptions. He'll be issued prison clothes stamped with a registration number to keep in a private locker. The McKean prison uniform consists of khaki pants, khaki shirt, belt, safety-toed work shoes and an ID card. Inmates are required to be in full uniform when they are at work, on a call-out, at a scheduled program, or in the visiting room. So-called "leisure clothing" can only be worn during travel between the housing units and recreation with no stops at other departments.

Snipes will have limited free time outside of working and sleeping. There are a number of recreational activities available to inmates, including the use of a gym and music room. Snipes will also be able to visit the law library during certain hours. Snipes may wish to use his time to research his next appeal; his attorney has vowed to "exhaust all plausible avenues in this matter."