Jay-Z, Yo Gotti, and Team ROC, the philanthropic sector of Roc Nation, has just filed their second civil lawsuit against the Mississippi DOC for inhumane treatment on behalf of 152 inmates.
According to Complex, Team ROC has filed the suit on behalf of the prisoners who are experiencing cruel conditions at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Eighteen inmates have died throughout the Mississippi correctional system, with most of those deaths occurring at Parchman, the publication reports.
A press release from Team Roc cited the accounts of some of the inmates who have said that “the food is adulterated with rat feces, cockroaches, rocks, bird droppings, and other foreign matter” and many inmates are “in dire need of medical care for cancer, lupus, serious heart defects.”
The inhumane conditions at Parchman, which include lack of clean water and basic needs like acceptable food and heat and electricity, have led to internal riots since December of last year. At least nine inmates have died from suicide or homicide, and those deaths have been misreported as “natural deaths.”
Team ROC filed its first lawsuit on behalf of 29 inmates for similar grievances. That suit was initiated after five prisoners were killed in the prison riots over the New Year. The suit alleged persistent underfunding and understaffing, which led to violence and deaths. The January lawsuit sparked the Department of Justice’s current investigation into Parchman.⠀⠀⠀⠀
Now, the rappers are asking the courts to maintain jurisdiction until the Department of Corrections can establish a safe and stable environment for the prisoners.
