Rapper Yo Gotti and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation have officially filed their lawsuit against the state of Mississippi over the state of its prison system.
The federal lawsuit alleges inmates are being kept in unconstitutional and inhumane conditions.
“Plaintiffs’ lives are in peril,” the lawsuit begins. “Individuals held in Mississippi’s prisons are dying because Mississippi has failed to fund its prisons, resulting in prisons where violence reigns because prisons are understaffed.” In the past two weeks alone, five men incarcerated in Mississippi have died as the result of prison violence. These deaths are a direct result of Mississippi’s utter disregard for the people it has incarcerated and their constitutional rights.”
Last week, the governor of Mississippi was put on notice and told the get things in order otherwise, a lawsuit would be headed their way – they did not, so the suit was filed on Tuesday.
There have been five deaths, two escapes, and several riots within the state’s prison system. Most of the incidents have reportedly occurred at the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
“The conditions in the prisons operated by the Mississippi Department of Corrections are absolutely inhumane and unconstitutional,” Gotti told Complex last week. “To see this happen so close to my hometown of Memphis is truly devastating. That’s why we’re calling on Mississippi state leaders to take immediate action and rectify this issue. If they don’t right this wrong, we’re prepared to take legal action to provide relief for those that are incarcerated and their families.”