Suge Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records, is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to a voluntary manslaughter charge related to a 2015 hit-and-run incident in Compton, California. In that incident, Knight ran over two men with his truck following an argument on the set of a commercial for the movie Straight Outta Compton. One of the victims, Terry Carter, died, while the other was seriously injured. Knight claimed self-defense, saying he was fleeing armed attackers, but prosecutors argued the act was intentional
. Knight was sentenced in 2018 and is serving time at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. He is eligible for parole in October 2034, when he will be 69 years old
. He has made unsuccessful attempts to overturn his sentence, with a judge ruling his appeals were filed too late and lacked sincerity
. In addition to his criminal sentence, Knight settled a wrongful death civil lawsuit related to the incident by agreeing to pay $1.5 million to Terry Carter’s widow and daughters in 2025, avoiding a retrial after a mistrial in 2022
. Overall, Suge Knight remains incarcerated, with his legal and financial troubles marking a significant fall from his earlier prominence as a powerful figure in the hip-hop industry.
