From drug kingpins to crypto moguls, we're counting down the most notable individuals who've served time and are set for release in 2024-25. Join us as we explore the stories of these high-profile inmates, their crimes, and their paths to freedom.
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00:00Tuckman says the only realistic way the brothers would be released before Thanksgiving
00:03is if Governor Newsom grants them clemency.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the most notable individuals who served time
00:10in prison and either already have or could potentially secure their release between 2024
00:15and 2025.
00:16Mr. Assange, I have no doubt, will be a continuing force for freedom of his speech.
00:24Demetrius Big Meech Flannery
00:26In 1985, Demetrius Big Meech Flannery and his brother Terry founded the Black Mafia family,
00:32creating one of the most notorious drug trafficking rings in the United States.
00:41Their operation soon drew federal attention, and by 2008,
00:44both brothers were sentenced to 30 years in prison for trafficking and money laundering.
00:52In 2020, they sought early release due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:56However, only Terry's request was granted.
00:58Flannery, on the other hand, remained behind bars until October 16, 2024,
01:02when he was allowed to leave federal prison and serve the remainder of his time at a
01:06residential re-entry program.
01:08In 2020, Terry Flannery was released, and just this week, Big Meech was released from prison.
01:13He will serve the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house in Miami.
01:17His official sentence concludes in January 2026.
01:21Rayfel Edmond III
01:22In the 1980s, the drug epidemic in Washington, D.C. was largely fueled by one man,
01:27Rayfel Edmond III.
01:38By his early 20s, Edmond had already built a drug empire,
01:42raking in around $300 million annually.
01:45In 1989, when he was just 24, Edmond was arrested on numerous charges,
01:50including drug trafficking, operating a criminal enterprise, and racketeering.
01:54He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison without parole.
02:04However, even behind bars, Edmond continued to deal drugs, and after he was caught,
02:09he struck a deal with the government, agreeing to become an informant.
02:12In July 2024, after decades behind bars, Edmond was granted early release and
02:17transferred to a halfway house at an unknown location in either Kentucky or Tennessee.
02:37Kinsley Pickett
02:38On Christmas night in 1991, Western Australia was rocked by a tragic incident.
02:47A car crashed into a pregnant woman and her young son, killing them both.
02:53The driver was Kinsley Pickett, who had stolen a vehicle and was trying to evade police.
02:58But this wouldn't be Pickett's first or last brush with the law.
03:01He racked up a lengthy record, and was frequently in and out of prison.
03:09For the manslaughter charges, Pickett only received a custodial sentence,
03:12and when he was released again, he continued his criminal behavior,
03:16breaking into a woman's home and sexually assaulting her.
03:18Despite being considered a high-risk serious offender by prosecutors,
03:22Pickett was granted early release in February 2024 under a five-year supervision order.
03:37You might remember YFN Lucci from his 2016 hits,
03:40A rising rapper, his career took a dramatic turn in 2021 when he became the focus of a
03:52statewide manhunt after he was indicted in a 105-count RICO case with 11 others.
03:57Prosecutors claimed Lucci was affiliated with the Bloods,
04:00and had been involved in murder, assault, and racketeering.
04:03He's been in jail since January 2021, originally facing a slew of charges,
04:08including murder. Prosecutors say he was the driver in a gang-related drive-by
04:13shooting which killed a man back in December of 2020.
04:16As he was denied bond, Lucci awaited trial behind bars until January 2024,
04:21when he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of probation.
04:25With credit for time served, Lucci's label announced a tentative parole date for January
04:292025, when he could potentially regain his freedom.
04:32But because of the charge that he pled to, under the parole guidelines,
04:37he's eligible in one-third of 10 years.
04:43A titan in the crypto world, Chanpeng Xiao founded Binance in 2017
04:47and built it into the world's top cryptocurrency exchange.
04:50We use all the industry common platforms like Chain Analysis, Elliptic,
04:56TRM for transaction monitoring. It's the same tools used by law enforcement.
05:00However, the U.S. Department of Justice later alleged that under his leadership,
05:04the platform became a hub for criminal activity,
05:07enabling money laundering activities linked to drug trafficking and terrorism.
05:11As you know, there have been reports about investigations about money laundering
05:15through Binance related to Iran.
05:18In November 2023, Xiao reached a plea deal with federal agents,
05:22which saw him step down as the CEO of Binance and pay a $50 million fine.
05:26Although prosecutors had asked for a three-year term, Xiao was ultimately
05:29sentenced to four months in prison. He eventually regained his freedom in September 2024
05:34and soon turned his focus to his next big project, Young Thug.
05:37In what became the longest criminal trial in Georgia's history,
05:40rapper Young Thug was one of 28 people indicted in a sweeping 56-count RICO investigation.
05:46This is video from court of Young Thug in a blue jumpsuit.
05:50The rapper and 28 other defendants charged in a 56-count indictment
05:56alleging street gang activity, including robbery and murder.
06:00Authorities alleged that Thug's record label, YSL,
06:03had operated both as a music outfit and a criminal street gang.
06:06Thug was arrested in May 2022 and repeatedly denied bond,
06:10which meant he had to sit in jail while awaiting trial.
06:12It took us 10 months just to get to the point of opening statements
06:15because of allegations of drugs being brought into the court.
06:19Attorneys were arrested for allegedly throwing cell phones
06:22as they were getting arrested for having pills in their bottle and assaulting officers.
06:26There's just so much drama that led to this point.
06:28In October 2024, after more than two years behind bars,
06:31he reached a plea deal with prosecutors, receiving a total sentence of 40 years.
06:36This included five years in prison, which was commuted to time served,
06:3915 years of probation, and a potential 20-year sentence should he violate probation.
06:44He was subsequently released from jail.
06:46What we can confirm is he is now a free man for the first time in two and a half years.
06:52Steve Bannon.
06:53After leading Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign,
06:56Steve Bannon became his chief strategist upon his election.
06:59We were trying to drive this populist movement.
07:01You know, Donald Trump came along at a time that this populist movement
07:04was starting to get going, and he really took it 10 years into the future.
07:07However, he held this role for only seven months before he was fired.
07:10Despite the split, Bannon remained closely tied to Trump,
07:13a connection that eventually landed him in prison.
07:15They, the former advisor to Donald Trump, who wears two button-down shirts
07:20on top of each other for no discernible reason,
07:22was ordered to report to prison for four months starting on July 1st
07:26for his conviction on federal contempt of Congress charges nearly two years ago.
07:30Following his refusal to appear before the U.S. House Committee
07:33investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol,
07:36Bannon was found guilty of contempt of Congress.
07:38This earned him a sentence of four months in prison and a $6,500 fine.
07:43Though he appealed this conviction,
07:44Bannon ultimately served his sentence from July to October 2024,
07:48gaining release just one week before the third consecutive presidential election
07:52involving his former boss, Yolanda Saldívar.
07:55All it took was three hours for a jury to find Yolanda Saldívar guilty of murder
08:00and send her to prison.
08:08Saldívar's victim was none other than Selena, the beloved Tejano singer
08:12with whom she had developed a close bond,
08:14serving as both the president of her fan club and manager of her boutiques.
08:18However, when it was discovered that Saldívar had been swindling money from Selena,
08:22she was fired from both roles.
08:36In retaliation, Saldívar fatally shot Selena at a motel in Corpus Christi
08:40on March 31st, 1995.
08:42She then threatened to take her own life but was ultimately apprehended.
08:46Saldívar was sentenced to life in prison,
08:48with the possibility of parole after 30 years, which is set for March 2025.
08:55On August 20th, 1989, José and Kitty Menéndez were murdered in their Beverly Hills home,
09:00leaving behind their two sons, Lyle and Eric.
09:02No signs of a break-in or a burglary,
09:05only the bodies of entertainment executive José Menéndez and his wife Kitty in the family TV room,
09:10torn by a shotgun blast that one of the neighbor kids heard.
09:14Initially, the brothers claimed unknown intruders were responsible,
09:17but their extravagant spending soon raised suspicions.
09:20Eventually, Eric confessed to a psychologist,
09:22whose ex-girlfriend later reported it to the police, resulting in the brothers' arrest.
09:27Their first trial ended with two deadlocked juries, but in 1996,
09:30a second trial convicted both of first-degree murder, sentencing them to life without parole.
09:35At the jury's recommendation, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison,
09:40without the possibility of parole.
09:42The brothers filed an appeal based on new evidence in 2023, and the following year,
09:47the case received renewed attention thanks to Ryan Murphy's Monsters.
09:50In October 2024, the Los Angeles District Attorney recommended a resentencing,
09:55which could see the brothers released in early 2025.
09:58Now, there is a hearing scheduled for late November, which might see the brothers freed.
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10:18Julian Assange
10:19As the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange gained notoriety in 2010 for publishing classified US
10:25government documents leaked by Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
10:28That soldier downloaded an absolute trove of US secrets and sent them to Julian Assange.
10:35Most of the leaks were highly classified and some arguably endangered lives.
10:40These files revealed sensitive military information,
10:43particularly about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
10:45In 2019, the US charged Assange with espionage and sought his extradition from the UK,
10:51where he had been detained after years of asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy.
10:54Julian Assange struck a deal with Ecuador. It agreed to give him asylum
10:59and he hid here in its embassy beyond the reaches of the law.
11:04However, this proved to be a protracted and complex legal process.
11:08In the end, Assange struck a deal with US prosecutors, pleading guilty to one charge
11:12in exchange for a 62-month sentence, which was commuted to time served.
11:16In June 2024, he was released from prison in the UK and returned to his native Australia.
11:21Julian Assange was sentenced to five years,
11:24time he'd already served inside the UK's high-security Balmarsh prison,
11:30meaning he was officially free.