Butler was arrested after falsely reporting 30 vials of bubonic plague missing to FBI officials. He reported the vials stolen, but later wrote a letter confessing they had been mistakenly destroyed.

Although he was not convicted of destroying the infected vials, he was convicted of exporting hazardous materials to Tanzania via Federal Express. He was also fined $250,000 for engaging in shadow contracts with pharmaceutical companies while employed by Texas Tech.

Chuck Meadows, Butler’s attorney, said an appeal of the convictions has been filed.

Baker said the prosecution has also filed a cross appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, La. A briefing schedule, which is the next step in the appeals process, has not yet been set, Baker said.

Butler’s sentencing was held on March 10 and was decided by U.S. District Court Judge Sam Cummings, who declined to comment.

Butler retired from his position of tenured professor at the university on Jan. 23. He surrendered his medical license to the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, the body that licenses medical doctors in Texas, on Feb. 6.

Federal Medical Center is a low-security prison that provides administrative services to inmates in need of medical attention, said Sean Marler, alternate public information officer for the South Central Regulations Office for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The prison also holds inmates of general population.

Marler said an offender such as Butler who has been convicted of a first offense and reporting to a low-security facility, will probably be placed in a cell with other inmates.

Upon arrival to a correctional facility, incoming prisoners can expect a lengthy processing, Marler said.

“When they’re processed in,” he said, “they’re socially and medically screened to determine they’re appropriate for general population.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons Receiving and Discharge Manual, processing of new inmates also includes a pat search, separation of personal property, mug shots and fingerprinting and the issue of a standard khaki uniform.