They Fought the Law...

Crono’s trial is one of the most memorable scenes in RPG history. After traveling through time and bravely rescuing a rebellious princess, Crono was falsely accused of kidnapping her by the corrupt Chancellor. This led to an elaborate trial in which seemingly inconsequential interactions were revisited and Crono’s character was put under a microscope. For example, Crono would be painted as a thief if players chose to eat food that had been left out in the open. On the other hand, Crono could earn brownie points if players had spent the time to reunite a girl with her lost cat. The justice system in the Kingdom of Guardia is seriously broken, however, so Crono is jailed regardless of the jury’s verdict. In order to avoid a date with a guillotine, Crono either has to figure out how to escape himself or wait for his friends to bust him out.

A death row inmate convicted of manslaughter, Adam “Kane” Marcus welcomed death and wanted his family to find peace. His life took an unexpected turn when a group of mercenaries busted him out and demanded money from him. Kane insisted that he had not stolen from them, but he was given three weeks to come up with their money or his wife and daughter would be killed. His back was against the wall, and the only help he had was from a mentally ill inmate who he had just met. James Lynch was prone to blackouts and violent outbursts, but Kane had no choice to work with him even though he was a potential liability. I don’t like grouping multiple characters together – this isn’t a Top 11 site, after all – but Kane and Lynch go together like Turner and Hooch, and it just wouldn’t be right to separate them.

Emelia was a successful fashion model who had become disillusioned with her career. After meeting a police officer named Ren, she eventually found the happiness and security she had been looking for. Unfortunately, Ren was murdered before they were married and Emelia was framed for the crime. After she was released from prison, Emelia was recruited into a secret police force made of ex-criminals. It would be easy to underestimate a woman who gallivants around like a Playboy bunny, but Emelia is more dangerous that she looks. Trained in gunplay, driven by vengeance, and armed with knowledge of the murderer’s identity, Emelia made it a mission to track down the man who was responsible for destroying her happiness. She’ll stop at nothing to find the truth behind her fiancé’s murder.

Pokkle grew up on an island in the middle of nowhere and dreamed of becoming an adult. An elaborate “coming of age” ritual was planned for him, but he overslept and missed the whole thing. He jumped out of bed just in time for the enraged mayor to burst into his room with accusations of treason! Pokkle was arrested, imprisoned, and forced to pay back the costs of the event that he failed to attend. Pockle did anything he could to eliminate the debt, and he was often tasked with menial jobs like catching frogs or collecting fruit. All the while, he was shackled with a ball and chain, an early curfew, and a robot police chief looking over his shoulder. The severity of the crimes discussed on this list vary greatly from one individual to the next, but it’s safe to say that none were more trivial than Pokkle’s.

When Terry Fawles was 20-years-old, he fell in love with a student he was tutoring. His devotion to Dahlia Hawthorne was so strong that he vowed to drink a vial of poison if he ever lost faith in her. Sadly, his love was unrequited and Dahlia was merely manipulating him for her own gain. With the help of her step-sister, Dahlia arranged a fake kidnapping in order to collect a ransom. Naturally, poor Terry was the fall guy and he found himself on death row after Dahlia faked her own death. Terry was confused at what had transpired, and most lawyers rejected his case. Dahlia’s plan was eventually revealed and Terry was exonerated. Unfortunately, he felt so betrayed that he drank a vial of poison and died on the stand. There are many convicts in the Ace Attorney series, but none are more tragic than Terry Fawles.

This list is no stranger to the wrongfully convicted, but Eddy Gordo made a conscious decision to serve time for a crime he didn’t commit. Eddy came from one of Brazil’s richest families, but his father found himself in opposition to the country’s drug kingpins. When Eddy was 19, he came home to found that his father had been shot. With his dying words, Eddy’s father implored his son to falsely confess to the murder and use the prison system as an unconventional form of protection. In an instant, Eddy went from being a model student with a bright future to a convicted killer. During his time in prison, Eddy saw an old man fight through a riot with a technique he called Capoeira. Eddy spent the next eight years practicing these techniques until he could use them with lethal efficiency in the name of vengeance.

There was a time when Lee Everett had everything going for him. He had a beautiful wife, a good relationship with his family, and a rewarding career as a professor at the University of Georgia. Unfortunately, his wife was having an affair with a state senator and Lee didn’t handle it well. After learning that his wife was a slut, Lee killed her lover in an act of rage. His lapse in judgment cost him his wife, his family, and his job, and he was slated to spend the best years of his life rotting away in a cell. Lee’s prison sentence was ultimately derailed by a zombie apocalypse, but I’m not sure if that would count as an upgrade. Despite being a convicted killer, Lee is the kind of person who everyone looks up to. He’s a natural leader, and he even takes a young girl named Clem under his wing and teaches her how to survive.

Regal Bryant is a kind-hearted man whose life took a hard turn after he was forced to kill the girl the loved. (A gamut of experiments had transformed her into a dangerous monster, so she begged Regal to take her life as an act of mercy.) Although Regal did what he thought was necessary, he vowed to never again use his hands in battle. It’s easy for a shackled prisoner to make that claim, but Regal kept this promise even after he got out of prison. It’s not unusual for a criminal to feel some level of regret for their actions, but Regal took things further than anyone on this list with his insistence on wearing his handcuffs as a constant reminder of his criminal past. Regal is a talented martial artists who mostly fought with his hands, so his decision to battle exclusively with his feet was an extreme measure if ever there was one.

Cody’s bravery was front and center in Final Fight as he set forth to rescue his girlfriend, Jessica, from a notorious street gang. In the end, he saved the girl, he saved the city, but he couldn’t save himself. Although he generally means well, Cody is a reckless vigilante with a combative personality. Behind his strong sense of justice is a kid who’s looking for a fight. He was jailed for street fighting shortly after his relationship with Jessica ended, and he let his guard down long enough for a cheeky gangbanger named Poison to pin her crimes on him. Being locked up didn’t prevent Cody from fighting, however. In fact, he actually preferred fighting in handcuffs because it made things more challenging! Cody would casually break out of prison if the big house got too boring, but you could always count on him to return.

Rex Fury was a hardened criminal since the age of six, so it was only a matter of time before his actions would catch up with him. After he was finally arrested, he managed to tunnel his way out of Albatross prison before launching a crime spree in LEGO City. He orchestrated bank robberies, ran chop chops, and kidnapped former associates. Rex is as dumb as a brick, but he’s every bit as tough as his tattoos and scars suggest. Due to his super strength and a network of cronies, Rex is almost impossible to pin down. The LEGO City Police Department spends considerable resources tracking him down, and they chase him all the way to the moon before they finally catch him! Whether he’s evading cops in a slow-moving tractor or fighting the police from the back of a robotic dinosaur, Rex Fury always keeps things interesting.