Court upholds Isley's sentence
Los Angeles, February 12, 2008 The three-judge panel rejected the 66-year-old R&B singer's
argument that his sentence was unreasonable due to his age, poor
health and lack of proof that the federal prison system can provide
him adequate health care.
In its ruling, the appellate court said the trial judge was
correct in sentencing and "best balanced the need to sanction Mr.
Isley's `pathological' tax evasion against the need to accommodate
Mr. Isley's poor health."
Isley was sentenced in 2006 after being convicted of five counts
of tax evasion and one count of willful failure to file a tax
return. Prosecutors said Isley avoided paying taxes numerous times over
a three-year period and declared bankruptcy after the IRS seized
his yacht, cars and other property in 1997.
He was discharged from bankruptcy four years later, but then did
not file tax returns for the years 1997 to 2001 and in 2002 did not
sign his return and failed to pay all taxes due.
Isley suffered a minor stroke in July 2004, but got married one
year later and continuously performed concerts at that time. He is
incarcerated at the Terre Haute Federal Corrections Institution in
Indiana and his projected release date is in April 2010.
Isley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was
part of the Isley Brothers, whose hits included "Twist and Shout"
and "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)."
