Celebrities have a unique way of a seeming ability to skirt justice — But that’s certainly not always the case.

There are stars on this list who will likely die in prison. Some claim to have been wrongly convicted, while others have taken full responsibility for their actions and are just biding their time in the big house before reentering society.

Today’s episode narrates the cases and predicaments of 10 superstars who were at the height of their careers in sports, acting, and music, but bad decisions changed the course of their careers and landed them behind bars.

Number 10: Jared Fogle

Former Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for child pornography charges, as well as charges he crossed state lines to pay for sex with minors, reported CNN. Fogle was also ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution to 14 victims and $175,000 in fines.

Prison life hasn’t been easy for the sandwich slinger. In March 2017, he was beaten by a fellow inmate, reported TMZ. The assailant, Steve Nigg, wrote a letter obtained by the tab explaining that he beat up Fogle because the spokesman is allegedly treated like a “hero” amongst other molesters and uses bodyguards to protect himself. “Other child molesters looked at him as if he was a God,” Nigg wrote. Despite being punished for the attack, Nigg wrote, “I have no regrets.”

In March 2018, Fogle made the news again when he and two fellow inmates filed a lawsuit against “federal authorities and his former attorneys” for what one of the men summarized to USA Today as “constitutional violations, government overreach, and convictions not based in the law.”

Fogle specifically alleged that he was duped into a guilty plea by “bogus conspiracy charges” brought by prosecutors. He also stated that the restitution he paid to victims as a result of “coercion” by his attorneys, amounted to “wire fraud, racketeering, and ‘money laundry.'”

Fogle speaking for the first time from prison in a handwritten letter dated Nov. 7, 2021; said; “I really royally screwed up to wind up where I am,” He is now serving 15 years and eight months at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Englewood, Colorado.

Number 9. Suge Knight

Former music mogul Suge Knight was charged with murder and attempted murder in February 2015, following a fatal hit-and-run on the set of the hit film Straight Outta Compton, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Knight was accused of running over Terry Carter, who died, and Cle “Bone” Sloan, who survived, with his truck.

Because of his criminal history and the seriousness of his charges, Knight’s $2.2 million bails were revoked, reported the paper.

The much-anticipated trial, which was delayed for years due to Knight’s various health issues and changes in legal counsel — an astounding 15 lawyers joined and left the case since his 2015 arrest — ended in September 2018, when Knight entered a plea of “no contest to voluntary manslaughter,” according to The New York Times.

This isn’t Knight’s first tussle with trouble. He was shot six times at a nightclub in 2014 and arrested for driving on a suspended license in 2013. He also landed in a hospital in 2009 after a fight at an Arizona hotel.

Once again, because of his violent past, Knight received a tougher sentence than a first-time offender. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison, which he will serve at R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, according to KGET. He will be up for parole in 2037.

Number 8: C-Murder

Musician C-Murder was sentenced to life in prison for killing a teenager during a scuffle in 2002. According to The Associated Press (via Page Six), C-Murder (real name Corey Miller) got into a fight with a 16-year-old fan named Steve Thomas outside a club in Harvey, La. MTV News reports that a jury ruled that “Miller shot Thomas once in the chest as the teen lay on his back while being beaten by the rapper’s friends.”

Following a civil case in 2013, C-Murder was also ordered to pay the victim’s family more than $1.1 million ($500,000 each to Thomas’ parents and another $150,000 for their suffering), per Page Six.

C-Murder has consistently proclaimed his innocence. In January 2018, his publicist, Tammy “Ty” Page, told AllHipHop (via BX) that they knew of a prisoner in another jail who confessed to Thomas’ murder on tape and even signed an affidavit attesting to it.

The page also told the rap news site that C-Murder was at the time engaged in a hunger strike to bring awareness to his claim that he and other prisoners were being “denied proper healthcare,” while being “treated inhumanely.”

According to Louisiana Weekly, C-Murder’s defense team has sought “a new trial” based on recanted testimony from two witnesses who identified him as the shooter in his original trial, however, prosecutors in the case “continue to seek to block efforts” on behalf of the incarcerated rapper. He was denied the retrial in 2019.

Number: 7 Ricardo Medina

Power Rangers Super Samurai star Ricardo Medina Jr. pleaded guilty in 2016 to fatally stabbing his roommate, Josh Sutter, with a samurai sword a year earlier, reported Variety.

The guys reportedly got into a fight over Medina’s girlfriend. In a disturbing 911 call, Medina could be heard allegedly saying, “Damn it, Josh. Why did you do this, man? Why did you make me do this?”

While Medina’s legal team claimed he’d acted in self-defense, the actor initially faced 26 years to life imprisonment for his original first-degree murder charge. However, according to The Associated Press, Medina took a plea deal that resulted in a six-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter.

At the time, Medina’s lawyer told NBC News that the actor “was happy and enthusiastic with the deal that was offered.” Understandably, the victim’s father disagreed, having previously reportedly testified with: “Put this killer in general [prison] population so he will see and feel the same fear that Joshua must have.”

Number 6: Sam Hurd

Former pro football star Sam Hurd could have been one of the league’s most prized and respected players, but instead, he’s serving 15 years behind bars for his role in a drug-distribution hustle, reported USA Today.

According to the paper, Hurd was rounded up during a sting at a Chicago steakhouse. He reportedly chatted up an undercover cop and attempted to buy 5 to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana to distribute on the streets. “I regret not thinking about the consequences,” Hurd told the court. “I made some dumb, very bad decisions.”

In 2015, Hurd filed a motion to have his sentence reduced from 15 years to nine, reported ABC. He stated he was rehabilitated, had completed both typing and business classes while behind bars, and even learned how to attend to basic sports injuries. His request was denied the following year.

Number 5: Phil Spector

Music producer Phil Spector will possibly spend the rest of his life behind bars for the death of actress Lana Clarkson, according to CNN.

In 2003, Clarkson was discovered dead, sitting in a chair, in Spector’s home. She’d been shot in the mouth. Spector’s first trial ended in a mistrial with a hung jury, but the second time around, jurors reportedly deliberated for just 30 hours.

Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life behind bars after being convicted of second-degree murder charges and ordered to pay the victim’s funeral costs.

His attorney reportedly forked over a $17,000 check. “All of our plans are destroyed,” Clarkson’s mother told the court (via CNN). “Now, I can only visit her at a cemetery.”

However, Spector’s legal battles didn’t end with a murder conviction. In May 2018, he won a fight from behind bars to reduce his ex-wife’s spousal support checks from “$37,500 a month in temporary spousal support and $14,419 per month to cover martial residence expenses” down to $33,000 and $5,885, respectively, according to The Blast.

It’s great that he’s focused on important things in there, huh? Per the Los Angeles Times, Spector won’t be eligible for parole until 2027.

Number 4: Oscar Pistorius

South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius became one of the world’s most renowned athletes when he sprinted in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as a double amputee, but he made headlines of another sort the following year.

In the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, he reportedly fired four shots into a closed bathroom door, killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. According to CNN, Pistorius said he thought an intruder was in his home; the prosecution claimed he killed Steenkamp after an argument.

Pistorius was convicted of manslaughter in 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison. He served one year and was then put on house arrest, but his conviction was overturned and upgraded to murder by a higher court in 2015, reported CNN.

In November 2017, his sentence was increased to 13 years and five months by The Supreme Court of Appeal. In March 2018, Pistorius ran out of appeals.

Although much of the drama has since been put to rest, Steenkamp’s father still struggles with her death. “I don’t wish that on any human being, finding out what happened. It devastated us,” he told the court in 2015 (via CNN). “I ended up having a stroke and so many things since then have happened to me.”

He said most of the family has forgiven Pistorius, adding, “You have to understand that forgiveness doesn’t exonerate you from what you did.”

Number 3: Ray Nagin

In 2014, former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was convicted on 20 counts of bribery, fraud, and money laundering while he was holding public office, and was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, according to The New Orleans Advocate.

He reportedly relied on city contractors and other local businesses to fund his lifestyle and to contribute business to his son’s company in exchange for valuable city contracts.

While Nagin later filed to have his conviction and sentence vacated, citing the case of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was exonerated from similar bribery and corruption charges, the judge denied his appeal in 2019.

As of this writing, Nagin is still looking at a May 2023 release date. Before heading to prison, Nagin spoke about his life to the New Orleans local news. “It’s really been tough. I can’t really6 do much. I can’t really travel. My freedom has pretty much been taken away,” he said. Yep, that’s sort of what happens following a guilty verdict.

Number 2. Michael Jace

Michael Jace, who was previously best known for his work on The Shield, was sentenced to 40 years to life behind bars in May 2014 after shooting his wife April Jace, to death.

Convicted of second-degree murder in 2016, per CNN, he reportedly shot April in front of their two young sons, because he was furious that she wanted a divorce and believed she was seeing someone else.

After shooting her once in the back and twice in the legs, Michael allegedly told her (via Us Weekly), “If you like running, then run to heaven.” He then reportedly called the police, before ringing April’s father to come to collect the boys.

This allegedly wasn’t Michael’s first domestic violence incident. A friend of his first wife told the court that she witnessed him abusing Jennifer Bitterman during their marriage, and Bitterman claimed in court documents that their son was afraid of his dad.

Number 1: R Kelly

R Kelly was found guilty of recruiting women and underage girls for sex over two decades.

The jury at a federal court in Brooklyn convicted him on all counts, including racketeering and eight violations of an anti-sex trafficking law which could come with a very long custodial sentence.

Several accusers testified during the trial, alleging that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.

Allegations of inappropriate relationships with minors have swirled around R Kelly for years, following Kelly’s illegal marriage to the R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994 when she was just 15.

Assistant US Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez argued that Kelly was a serial abuser who “maintained control over these victims using every trick in the predator handbook.”

It is unclear exactly how much time he will get, but Kelly faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering when he is sentenced on May 4, 2022.