Lauryn Hill Prison: 'Ex Factor' Singer Sentenced to 3 Months in Jail for Tax Evasion, Grammy Winner Compares Debt to Slavery

After pleading guilty to tax evasion last year, Lauryn Hill has been sentenced to three months in prison. The singer explained to the sentencing judge that she planned to pay back what she owes, but he still presented her with the jail sentence since citizens do not get to choose when they to pay their taxes. Hill is due to report to jail on July 8 to begin serving the sentence for failure to pay federal income taxes for three years. After that she will be confined to her home for three months and then a year of supervised probation follows that. The singer must also pay penalties and taxes still owed and a $60,000 fine.

In her plea to the Judge before the sentencing, Hill said, "Someone did the math, and it came to around $600 million. And I sit here before you trying to figure out how to pay a tax debt? If that's not like enough to slavery, I don't know."

"This wasn't a life of jet-setting glamour," she explained. "This was a life of sacrifice with very little time for myself and my children."

Lauryn Hill's lawyer, Nathan Hochman, said, "I think the judge gave a fair and reasonable sentence." He also explained that her lack of a criminal record and her having six minor children helped the case as well.

"I think the government has let a number of celebrities off and never criminally prosecuted them, Willie Nelson being at least one example," he said. "I think that the court took that into account as well. Ms. Hill did not get a slap on the wrist and let off with just paying a certain amount of money but has had to go through this entire criminal prosecution."

Lauryn Hill, who recently announced that she will be headed back into the studio to make more music, took some time to talk about her career during the sentencing.

"I didn't make music for celebrity status," she told the court. "I made music for artistic and existential catharsis, which was not just necessary for myself but it was also necessary for the generations of oppressed people who hadn't had their voices expressed like I was able to do it. Music is not something I do from 9 to 5. It's a state of being, and like a doctor who delivers babies, I'm on call all the time because that's the kind of work this is."