After killing the actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel in 1598, Jonson was sent to prison. Later, he was released with only minimal punishment. He had gained mercy from the judge by quoting a Bible verse in Latin before the court.
Thoreau is better known for his prose, but he was also a prolific poet. In 1846, he refused to pay his taxes because he didn't want to support the Mexican War. He also famously advised others to do the same in his essay "Civil Disobedience." For his refusal, he spent a night in jail. In the morning, Thoreau's aunt payed his taxes and he was released, much to his chagrin.
In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sent to prison for homosexual conduct. He was well known at the time for his numerous comic plays, a single novel and his poetry. Although he was eventually released in 1897, prison had made him sick and poor. He only lived another three years. However, he did manage to document his experience in prison with one final much-lauded poem, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol."
Gregory Corso was a member of the Beat Generation and a friend of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. When the poet was just thirteen years old, he stole a toaster and sold it to a pawn shop for money to buy a tie. Unfortunately, he was caught by the police and sent to prison in New York City. While locked away, he discovered a love for books that would last the rest of his life.
Miguel Hernández was a major Spanish poet in the early 20th century. He is most well known for writing pro-Republic poetry during the Spanish Civil War. After the Fascists took over, Hernández was sent to prison with a thirty-year sentence. But he died from tuberculosis in prison long before his time was up. He was only thirty-two years old.