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Background

Corey Miller, better known as C-Murder, came onto the rap scene in 1998 with his album Life or Death. It was released on No Limit Records, a music label run by his older brother, music mogul Master P. The album was well-received by fans and sold over 1 million copies. C-Murder would go on to release two more albums on the label.

Despite his growing fame and fortune in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Miller couldn’t leave the streets behind.

On August 14th, 2001, he tried to shoot a club owner and bouncer who wouldn’t let him into a nightclub without being searched. Fortunately, the gun jammed after the first shot was fired, and no one was injured.

While he was out on bond for that case, 16-year-old Steven Thomas was shot and killed at a nightclub in Harvey, Louisiana, on January 12th, 2002. Witnesses pointed the finger at Miller, and police arrested him for the crime one week later.

Legal Proceedings

In September 2003, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Thomas. In 2006, the verdict was overturned after the judge ruled the prosecution withheld information about the criminal backgrounds of some of their witnesses.

In May 2009, Miller pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the 2001 incident in which he tried to shoot the bouncer and nightclub owner. He received a 10-year sentence.

On August 5th, 2009, his second trial for the Murder of Thomas started. After five days, he was convicted by a jury in a 10-2 vote and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Claims of Innocence

Miller has maintained his innocence since being arrested, and several witnesses have changed their stories over the years, saying Miller wasn’t involved in the death of Thomas.

Despite appeals and witnesses changing their stories, and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Monica speaking up on Miller’s behalf, he remains behind bars. Fox8live reported in February 2026 that his most recent appeal was denied.

“10-2 Law” Change

When Miller was convicted, a jury didn’t have to be unanimous. All they needed was at least 10 jurors to vote guilty. Louisiana abolished that practice in 2018, and in 2020, the Supreme Court ruled non-unanimous verdicts unconstitutional.

People previously convicted under the “10-2 law” are hoping they can benefit from the change in the future with resentencing or by being given the possibility of parole, but as of now, it doesn’t look like that will happen.