List of Famous Prisoners at Rikers Island ranked by fame and notoriety. Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex and has an inmate population of 12,300. Rikers Island is a jail, not a prison, which means that it holds offenders who are awaiting trial and do not have bail, individuals serving sentences less than a year and people that are pending transfer to another facility. Through the years Rikers Island has been host to many famous prisoners.
Who is the most famous prisoner at Rikers Island. Young Money rapper Lil Wayne tops our list. Weezy spent eight months at Rikers Island after pleading guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. Another rap legend, Tupac Shakur spent a portion of his eight month jail sentence at Rikers Island. Pac was charged with sexual assault for holding a female fan down while another man sexually assaulted her. Shakur always denied involvement with the incident.
Sex Pistol's member Sid Vicious was sent to Rikers Island twice. The first time after his girlfriend Nancy Spungen was found dead from a stab wound in the Chelsea Hotel. Vicious was charged with murder and released on bail. He made his second trip to Rikers that same year after getting in a fight at a NYC nightclub. This time he spent seven weeks at Rikers and was found dead of a drug overdose the morning after his release.
Why do you think so many members of the music industry spend time at Rikers Island? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
14 Famous Prisoners of Rikers Island,
David Berkowitz
DMX
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Lil Wayne
Foxy Brown
Mark David Chapman
Plaxico Burress
Sid Vicious
Sonny Rollins
Tupac Shakur