Martha Stewart ready to go to jail

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Martha Stewart in New York Wednesday said she wants to serve her prison sentence for insider trading so she can get on with her life.

Stewart was sentenced in July to five months in prison and five months' house arrest for a March conviction for obstructing justice and lying to investigators over her December 2001 sale of 4,000 shares in ImClone Systems stock.

Since July, a Manhattan federal judge has allowed her to remain out of prison as she appeals her conviction.

"I want to put this nightmare behind me," she said, so she can pursue "future business opportunities."

She intends to continue her appeal while behind bars, ABC News reported.

Stewart, who founded and still runs Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, said one of her lawyers was giving U.S. District Judge Miriam Cedarbaum a letter asking permission to let Stewart begin serving her sentence as soon as possible.

Speculation has centered on a Florida facility as the most likely site for Stewart's incarceration.