Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to force former Barren County Sheriff Chris Eaton to report immediately to prison while he appeals his conviction on two counts of witness tampering.
Eaton has been directed to report to a federal penitentiary in Louisiana on Sept. 30 to serve an 18-month sentence. He was convicted this year in federal court of directing two deputies to write false incident reports for the FBI. Federal investigators were probing accusations of civil rights violations during a 2010 arrest.
The Daily News reported that U.S. Justice Department Attorney Sanjay Patel said in a motion that Eaton wants to delay prison time to pursue a "meritless appeal."
Eaton's attorney, Guthrie True of Frankfort, requested Eaton be allowed to stay free until his conviction is finalized.