Sometimes, it's easy to forget that while celebrities tower above us in everyday life,
they tend to fall much farther and harder when they decide to make mistakes or be terrible
people. Let's take a look at some celebrities who are still in prison for a variety of heinous
crimes.
Bill Cosby was accused of sexual assault many times over the years and even settled with
one accuser in 2006. Still, his behavior somehow stayed under the radar until comedian Hannibal
Buress mentioned in a 2014 stand-up routine that the former "Cosby Show" star was known
for raping women. Before long, a string of women began revealing that the actor forced
himself upon them without their consent. Supermodel Janice Dickinson told Entertainment Tonight
that he drugged her with wine and a pill before assaulting her. It went downhill for him from
there.
In 2015, additional women opened up about being raped by Cosby, with New York Magazine
interviewing 35 of them. Several of the accusers filed lawsuits against the star. Eventually,
60 women had come forward and accused Cosby of sexual assault, according to USA Today.
In 2016, a Pennsylvania judge decreed that there was enough evidence for a criminal trial,
for which the jury deadlocked in June 2017, resulting in a mistrial. There was a retrial
in 2018, and Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, receiving
a three- to ten-year sentence for assaulting a Philadelphia woman in 2004. Cosby has denied
all the allegations. In 2019, he claimed in an interview that he would rather stay in
prison for a decade than admit to something he didn't do.
Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is the former CEO of the infamous 90s hip-hop label Death
Row Records — which released numerous multi-platinum albums by the likes of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg,
and Tupac Shakur before falling into obscurity by the turn of the century.
In January 2015, he had an altercation with a man named Cle "Bone" Sloan, who worked on
the biopic "Straight Outta Compton" — a film that doesn't necessarily paint Suge in
the most positive light. The fight got so intense that Knight ended up grazing Sloan
with his vehicle and running over a man named Terry Carter, who died from his injuries.
Knight initially claimed his actions were in self-defense and that he was being chased
by two armed men.
Three years later, Knight entered a plea deal and was sentenced to 22 years in prison for
voluntary manslaughter and six years for a third strike violation, which totaled 28 years
behind bars. He has been serving time at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in
San Diego County, California, since 2018 and isn't eligible for parole until 2037.
Not long after he was sent to prison, Knight claimed that Dr. Dre was behind a plot to
assassinate him. He told The Blast it was a murder-for-hire scheme with a paper trail
that proves Dre was involved in a plan that would "get rid" of Knight. So far, nothing
has come of these accusations.
Film mogul Harvey Weinstein is in prison based on the allegations of just two people, Miriam
Haley and Jessica Mann, even though a total of 87 women spoke out about the sexual abuse
they experienced at his hands over the years. According to Biography, Weinstein was arrested
in New York and charged with rape, committing a criminal sex act, sexual abuse, and sexual
misconduct, in 2018. Investigators in California and London were also targeting the producer
for sex crimes.
Before he went to trial, Weinstein posted $1 million bail and was ordered to wear an
ankle monitor. He was later indicted on charges of rape in the first and third degrees, a
first-degree criminal sexual act, and other felony sex charges. The entire time, Weinstein
refuted the charges and claimed that the victims were willing participants. At one point during
the investigation, a spokeswoman told USA Today:
"Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein."
In 2020, the producer was found guilty of committing a criminal sexual act against Haley
and rape in the third degree. He was found not guilty of predatory sexual assault and
rape in the first degree against Mann. Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison and is
a registered sex offender.
New Orleans rapper C-Murder, born Corey Miller, was convicted of second-degree murder for
killing a teen named Steve Thomas in a nightclub in 2002. The rapper started serving a life
sentence in Louisiana State Penitentiary in 2009, according to NBC News. However, there's
a twist in his case: Since his incarceration, two major eyewitnesses came forward to recant
their testimony. Plus, an unlikely ally has come to his defense: reality star Kim Kardashian.
In April 2020, the Supreme Court determined that jury verdicts in trials involving serious
crimes must agree unanimously. In Miller's case, he was convicted 10-2. Kardashian, who
is studying to be an attorney, tweeted at the time:
"Since his trial, witnesses have recanted, new evidence of his potential innocence has
come to light, and there are claims of jurors being pressured into voting to convict."
One witness, Kenneth Jordan, revealed that he was pressured to lie about C-Murder because
he feared being imprisoned himself on unrelated charges. The other witness, Darnell Jordan,
also claimed he felt pressured to lie under oath. Meanwhile, the convicted rapper has
claimed he's innocent of all charges.
"They got me for second degree murder. Something I didn't do."
Michael Jace, who you may know for the television police drama "The Shield," shot his wife in
front of their two children in their Los Angeles home in 2014. According to CNN, he was sentenced
to 40 years in prison for the murder. The motive for the killing appeared to be jealousy.
His wife, April Jace, wanted a divorce, and the 53-year-old actor was convinced she was
dating another man.
After committing the murder on May 19, 2014, he called the police and his father-in-law
and admitted to the crime. Jace had a history of violent behavior: A friend of his first
wife revealed in a sworn statement during a 2005 custody case that he had choked and
hit his first wife and slammed her against the wall.
Jace's acting career spanned two decades, including a role as basketball legend Michael
Jordan in the made-for-TV movie "Michael Jordan: An American Hero."
In 2017, actor Ricardo Medina Jr., known for playing a Power Ranger, was convicted for
stabbing and killing his roommate Joshua Sutter with a sword two years earlier, according
to USA Today. The star claimed he was acting in self-defense and pleaded guilty to voluntary
manslaughter. He was sentenced to six years in prison. Medina was initially charged with
first-degree murder, but he decided to plead guilty to the lesser charge to avoid a potential
life sentence.
What led up to the killing? Medina and Sutter had an argument in their home in Los Angeles,
reportedly over Medina's girlfriend. The couple reportedly locked themselves in Medina's bedroom,
and Sutter broke the door to gain entry. That's when the actor stabbed him.
Medina starred as the Red Lion Wild Force Ranger on "Power Rangers Wild Force" in 2002,
and he also had a voice role on "Power Rangers Samurai" in addition to some guest appearances
on "ER" and "CSI: Miami."
Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
at his home in Pretoria, South Africa, on Valentine's Day in 2013. Pistorius was arrested
and charged with murder, even though he insisted he killed Steenkamp by accident, believing
she was a trespasser taking cover in his bathroom. The jury found him guilty of culpable homicide,
and he was sentenced to five years in prison. He also received a three-year suspended sentence
for reckless endangerment.
Pistorius was released from prison after serving just one year. Authorities later overturned
the verdict and issued a sentence for murder instead, bumping his prison time up to an
additional 13 years and five months. The athlete could potentially stay behind bars until 2030;
however, he is eligible for parole in 2023.
Pistorius is also known as the "Blade Runner." Both of his legs were amputated when he was
an infant, and he started running as a teenager. He won a gold medal during the 2004 Athens
Paralympics. In 2012, he started running against non-disabled athletes and was the first amputee
to compete in Olympic track events.
In 2013, actress Shannon Guess Richardson, whose big claim to fame was playing multiple
zombies on "The Walking Dead," pleaded guilty to developing, producing, possessing, and
transferring a toxin with the intent to use it as a weapon, according to the Texarkana
Gazette. She mailed threatening, poison-laced letters to then-president Barack Obama and
two other people. Richardson bought supplies for the plot using a credit card and account
under her husband's name, and she made the poison ricin using castor beans in the home
she shared with her husband and four children. She was also pregnant while making the concoction.
"One or two grains of salt would be the equivalent size of the amount of ricin that could be
lethal to a human being if the person ingests or inhales it."
She mailed the letters to Obama, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, and a man named Michael
Glaze, who was employed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The FBI collected and examined
all of the correspondence. Richardson wrote about gun control in the letters and tried
to set up her husband for the crime by planting evidence in his car and lunchbox. Despite
her attempt to frame him, she was arrested in 2013 and eventually given an 18-year sentence.
Richardson is serving time in a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, and could be released
in 2029. She is not eligible for parole.
Many people may not remember Sam Hurd, who was a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears
and Dallas Cowboys. However, he was involved in some extracurricular activities that make
him hard to forget. When he wasn't playing football, the athlete was running a drug ring.
In fact, he was moving a whopping four kilos of cocaine, which cost $100,000, each week,
according to Sportscasting.
Hurd sold the drugs to make a profit, and he had a partner and a fleet of vehicles to
move the cocaine wherever it needed to go. In 2011, he revealed to an undercover officer
that he wanted to boost his supply by up to 10 kilos per week in addition to 1,000 pounds
of marijuana, which would have given him an overhead of $2 million a month. The information
he divulged was enough for an arrest.
In 2013, Hurd was sentenced to 15 years in prison for purchasing and trafficking drugs
in Chicago. He was just 28 years old. Before his arrest, he had signed a $5 million contract
with the Bears, so he gave up a lot of cash after he was busted for drug running.
Nathaniel Glover, aka Kidd Creole, is a founding member of hip-hop group Grandmaster Flash
and the Furious Five, and he is currently being held at the Vernon C. Bain Correctional
Center in the Bronx. He has been there since 2017 but has yet to go to trial, according
to The Source. Glover, 61, was arrested and charged with murder in the second degree after
stabbing a man named John Jolly in the chest. Glover and Jolly, a registered sex offender,
had an altercation in midtown Manhattan.
During an interview in March 2021, Glover was eager to tell his side of the story. He
has previously been labeled as homophobic but insisted he merely acted in self-defense
and disputed reports that he had problems with the LGBTQ community. Glover claimed he
was minding his own business when Jolly aggressively pursued him and appeared to have harmful intentions.
Glover initially thought Jolly was trying to pick him up before the latter began to
follow him. Glover is still waiting for a trial date and is struggling to stay positive.
He explained:
"I'm suffering. I'm locked in a room 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, day in, day out, not
knowing what my fate is going to be because my case is dragging on. It's very difficult
for me right now."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit
the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline
at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources,
and support at their website.