Jay-Z, Yo Gotti and Team Roc File Suit Against Mississippi Prison Over Health Conditions
In the midst of the raging COVID-19 pandemic across the nation and in Mississippi prisons, Jay-Z, Yo Gotti and Team ROC have filed a class-action lawsuit against on behalf of 227 Mississippi inmates against the state's new Department of Corrections Commissioner Nathan Burl Cain and Centurion (the healthcare provider for all Mississippi prisons) in an effort to address the dire conditions for prisoners in lockdown during the pandemic.
According to a copy of a sworn COVID-19 questionnaire filled out by some Parchman prisoners provided to Billboard by a spokesperson for Team ROC, the men describe a lack of COVID testing protocols in the century-old prison, reports of officials saying that corona tests in short supply, poor social distancing, a lack of PPE and confinement in close proximity to inmates displaying coronavirus symptoms such as coughing and fever at the state's only maximum security prison for men.
"The situation in Parchman in dire. More and more of the incarcerated population are reaching out for help and pleading for immediate medical attention, especially as the coronavirus threatens their lives," Gotti (born Mario Mims) said in a statement about the prison which the suit argues has been understaffed or underfunded for decades, resulting in "barbaric" conditions that allegedly include abuse and "constant" violence. "Mississippi Governor Reeves, Commissioner Burl Cain and Centene — as the parent company of Parchman’s healthcare provider Centurion — can’t continue to neglect this tragedy and let the death toll rise. We will hold them accountable and fight for the rights of the incarcerated."
According to the statement, in late December, before the outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. that has killed more than 137,000 people, inmates at Parchman were dealing with "cruel and torturous living conditions that resulted in internal riots, suicides and homicides," prompting Gotti and Team ROC to file an initial lawsuit.
Read the full article as it originally appeared in Billboard.
