 The U.S. government asked the Georgian government to waive his immunity, which they did and Makharadze was tried and convicted of manslaughter by the U.S. and sentenced to seven to twenty-one years in prison.The first three years of his sentence were served in a North Carolina prison.He was repatriated to his home nation of Georgia in 2000 to continue serving his sentence; and was released on February 27, 2002.