MIKE TYSON:
Tyson has been married three times; he has fathered six surviving children by several women.
Tyson was arrested in July 1991 for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington, Miss Black Rhode Island, in an Indianapolis hotel room. Tyson's rape trial took place in the Indianapolis courthouse from January 26, 1992 to February 10, 1992.
Desiree Washington testified that she received a phone call from Tyson at 1:36 am on July 19, 1991 inviting her to a party. Having joined Tyson in his limousine, Washington testified that Tyson made sexual advances towards her. She testified that upon arriving at his hotel room, Tyson pinned her down on his bed and raped her despite her pleas to stop. She ran out of the room and asked Tyson's chauffeur to drive her back to her hotel.[citation needed] Partial corroboration of Washington's story came via testimony from Tyson's chauffeur, Virginia Foster, who confirmed Desiree Washington's state of shock. Further testimony came from Thomas Richardson, the emergency room physician who examined Washington more than 24 hours after the incident and confirmed that Washington's physical condition was consistent with rape.[63]
Under lead defense lawyer Vincent J. Fuller's direct examination, Tyson claimed that everything had taken place with Washington's full cooperation and he claimed not to have forced himself upon her. When he was cross-examined by lead prosecutor Gregory Garrison, Tyson denied claims that he had misled Washington and insisted that she wanted to have sex with him. Because of Tyson's hostile and defensive responses to the questions during cross-examination, some have speculated that his behavior made him unlikable to the jury who saw him as brutish and arrogant.[64] Tyson was convicted on the rape charge on February 10, 1992 after the jury deliberated for nearly 10 hours.[65]
Alan Dershowitz, acting as Tyson's counsel, filed an appeal urging error of law in the Court's exclusion of evidence of the victim's past sexual conduct, the exclusion of three potential defense witnesses, and the lack of a jury instruction on honest and reasonable mistake of fact.[66] The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled against Tyson in a 2–1 vote.[66]
On March 26, 1992, Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison followed by four years on probation.[67] He was assigned to the Indiana Youth Center (now the Plainfield Correctional Facility) in April 1992,[68] and he was released in March 1995 after serving three years.[69] During his incarceration, Tyson converted to Islam.[70]
His first marriage was to actress Robin Givens, from February 7, 1988 to February 14, 1989. Givens was famous for her work on the sitcom Head of the Class. Tyson's marriage to Givens was especially tumultuous, with allegations of violence, spousal abuse and mental instability on Tyson's part.[149] Matters came to a head when Tyson and Givens gave a joint interview with Barbara Walters on the ABC TV newsmagazine show 20/20 in September 1988, in which Givens described life with Tyson as "torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine."[150] Givens also described Tyson as "manic depressive" on national television while Tyson looked on with an intent and calm expression.[149] A month later, Givens announced that she was seeking a divorce from the allegedly abusive Tyson.[149] They had no children but she reported having had a miscarriage; Tyson reports that she was never pregnant and only used that to get him to marry her.[149][151] During their marriage, the couple lived in a mansion in Bernardsville, New Jersey.[152][153]
His second marriage was to Monica Turner from April 19, 1997 to January 14, 2003.[154] At the time of the divorce filing, Turner worked as a pediatric resident at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington DC.[155] She is the sister of Michael Steele, the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and former Republican National Committee Chairman.[156] Turner filed for divorce from Tyson in January 2002, claiming that he committed adultery during their five-year marriage, an act that "has neither been forgiven nor condoned."[155] The couple had two children, Rayna and Amir.
On May 25, 2009, Tyson's four-year-old daughter Exodus was found by her seven-year-old brother Miguel, unconscious and tangled in a cord, dangling from an exercise treadmill. The child's mother untangled her, administered CPR and called for medical attention. She died of her injuries on May 26, 2009.[157][158]
Eleven days after his daughter's death, Tyson wed for the third time, to longtime girlfriend Lakiha "Kiki" Spicer, age 32, exchanging vows on Saturday, June 6, 2009, in a short, private ceremony at the La Bella Wedding Chapel at the Las Vegas Hilton.[159]
Tyson has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.[160] While on the American talk show The View in early May 2010, Tyson revealed that he is now forced to live paycheck to paycheck.[161] He went on to say: "I'm totally destitute and broke. But I have an awesome life, I have an awesome wife who cares about me. I'm totally broke. I had a lot of fun. It [his poverty] just happened. I'm very grateful. I don't deserve to have the wife that I have; I don't deserve the kids that I have, but I do, and I'm very grateful."
In March 2011, Tyson appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss his new Animal Planet reality series, Taking on Tyson. In the interview with DeGeneres, Tyson discussed some of the ways he had improved his life in the past two years, including sober living and a vegan diet.[162] However, in August 2013 he admitted publicly that he had lied about his sobriety and was on the verge of death from alcoholism.[163]
In December 2013, during an interview with Fox News, Tyson talked about his progress with sobriety and how being in the company of good people has made him want to be a better and more humble person. Tyson also talked about religion and said that he is very grateful to be a Muslim and that he needs Allah.[164] He also revealed that he is no longer vegan after four years.[164]
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