Wesley Snipes Hoping For Legal Miracle (VIDEO)

Wesley Snipes, set to go to prison on Thursday for three years for tax issues, professed his innocence on 'Larry King Live' on Tuesday, and said he still hoped to stay out of jail.

"We still believe in miracles, Larry, so don't send me up the river just yet," he pleaded. "I was never charged with tax evasion," Snipes told the host, working to clarify the story. "I was convicted of three misdemeanors of willful failure to file a form."

That's a significant difference, his lawyer pointed out.

"Tax evasion is a felony," attorney Daniel R. Meachum said. "Willful failure to file a form is a misdemeanor.. I would venture to say, as long as you've been alive, there have probably been some friends of yours who did not file their tax return forms by April the 15th of each year."

Snipes lamented the entire system that he feels is being slanted against him.

"I'm more upset and disappointed that the system seems to not be working for me in this situation," Snipes said. "It does seem to be rather unusual, rather bizarre, when you had a prosecutor come into the sentencing and make the statement that this was the biggest tax trial in the history of the IRS."

WATCH:

Comments

[Nicole Dixson]

12:44 PM on 12/09/2010

Sorry Tiny Tim.

[PurpleTomato]

02:44 AM on 12/09/2010

Why not let Mr.Snipes pay what he owes,plus a fine and lets move on?Why cost the taxpayers more by jailing him?

[rvr16]

10:31 PM on 12/08/2010

Take some lube!

[stevebol2]

07:26 PM on 12/08/2010

The sentence seems far too harsh.

[dmzrn]

06:48 PM on 12/08/2010

He should run for congress--instant immunity!

[ThePeacemakers]

06:17 PM on 12/08/2010

"Snipes lamented the entire system that he feels is being slanted against him."

Was he the only millionaire that missed out on all the tax cuts or something?

[mmsuki]

05:27 PM on 12/08/2010

And corporations like Exxon and GE can "legally" avoid paying ANY taxes without penalties.

[mypov123]

06:52 PM on 12/08/2010

Exactly.

[Jeffin90019]

04:49 PM on 12/08/2010

Al Capone went to jail because he didn't pay his income tax. Leona Helmsley went to jail because she didn't pay her income tax. Even Sophia Loren when to jail in Italy over taxes. Snipes is just a cheap, entitled actor who hooked up with a charlatan who sold a fool a bill of goods. Go to jail. The last thing America needs is more people who willfully refuse to pay their taxes.

[wedgie]

06:21 PM on 12/08/2010

Wow. Love the IRS do you?

[Conk]

11:42 AM on 12/09/2010

no, the last thing America needs is the IRS. It's just a scam to hide the egregious practices of the Federal Reserve.

[PoliSci2008]

04:43 PM on 12/08/2010

Miracles?

People say I'm the life of the party
Because I tell a joke or two
Although I might be laughing loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue
So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer, it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears.

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' Track of My Tears

[Max Shaw]

02:34 PM on 12/08/2010

If Rangel can get out of it, anything is possible. Although Rangel deserved to go to jail.

But we're splitting hairs here:

"Tax evasion is a felony," attorney Daniel R. Meachum said. "Willful failure to file a form is a misdemeanor..

I would say if someone wilfully fails to file a form (and three times no less..) they are basically in the process of TRYING to commit tax evasion. Which he certainly did. Certainly a harsh sentence and doesnt fit the crime..

[wedgie]

06:22 PM on 12/08/2010

Rangel is a Congressman. THOSE GUYS never go to jail...

[blondecuban]

02:01 PM on 12/08/2010

The sentence is definitely out of proportion with the crime though I can tell he's lying (saw him on Larry King last night). Since when does a misdemeanor have a 3 year prison sentence. They should have given him community service and made him pay what he owed plus the court costs.

I'm wondering if they're using him as an example to those of us with less resources who can't pay our taxes? Is this country going back in time to put people in the debtor's prison? They should have just let him pay the taxes and be done with it. Now the government is going to foot his bill in prison, which won't be cheap, since they'll probably segregate him from the rest of the prison population.

[thinkb4uleapII]

08:19 AM on 12/09/2010

That's how the system operates -- bring the full measure of the "law" to bear on a few high-value targets in order to send a message to the masses not to step out of line. It's not unlike how slavemasters maintained servility among their chattel. It mattered not that tying another human to a post and whipping them to an inch of their life was inhumane -- they were permitted to do so by "law". The message those whippings sent were powerful and mesmeric. How do you think it was possible for slavery as an institution was able to continue for as long as it did?

[nmeade56]

01:53 PM on 12/08/2010

It seems like 3 years is pretty harsh for 3 misdemeanors...

[onionboy]

12:30 PM on 12/08/2010

Hmm. No mention on Larry King of declaring himself a "non-resident alien" several years ago to avoid the charges. He's being targeted because he didn't forget anything. He hooked up with a guy who convinced him there was no legal obligation to pay federal income tax. Snipes proceeded to do just that for at several years, intentionally.

Is he being made an example of? Of course. He's in the public eye. That's how it works. If he were an ordinary working stiff who got payroll taxes taken out, this wouldn't be such a big deal, either by notoriety or by the amount of money he'd withheld. That's not the case. I've been hearing about this since mid-2000s. He should have dealt with it then. He'd be a free man now. I feel bad for the guy, but he's got no one to blame but himself.

[TheBear]

02:24 AM on 12/09/2010

no kidding.....trying to equate himself with people who forget to file by April 15th is really lame. What about trying to claim a refund for $14,000,000 for payments he never made. He played alot of games. He could of just filed and paid up a long time ago. Why people think he will now get away with not paying his taxes is beyond me.....now he will pay his taxes, plus penalties and go to joke. What an a$$hat!

[onionboy]

02:33 AM on 12/09/2010

That fella he was in business this on all of this is going to jail for a lot longer, so he should count his blessings.

[mojo filter]

11:51 AM on 12/08/2010

Seems pretty harsh for tax evasion. I like his lawyers excuse too, comparing not paying any taxes for a few years to people who file late.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

11:40 AM on 12/08/2010

A custodial sentence for tax crimes is foolish
 
 
Some sort of fine and community service would be more appropriate.