Yo Gotti, Roc Nation’s Team Roc and JAY-Z are continuing their legal battle on behalf of Mississippi inmates. On Wednesday (Feb. 26), Team Roc announced they have collectively filed a second civil lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections in an effort to shut down Parchman prison, which has been at the center of multiple allegations, including inmate abuse and abhorrent living conditions.
“Stop the shameful, inhumane, and unlawful treatment happening in [Parchman Prison],” an Instagram post from the Roc Nation philanthropic organization reads. “A second lawsuit has been filed against the [Mississippi Department of Corrections] demanding closure of [Parchman] due to the cruel and torturous living conditions.”
“Inmates have been forced to live in deadly environments that lack clean water, adequate food, access to healthcare, among many other basic human necessities,” the caption continued.
The post also includes a video that compiles footage from inmates inside the prison, as well as interviews with prisoners’ family members. In the clip, inmates document Parchman’s living conditions, which include non-working toilets, unavailable medical care and more. Interviews with inmates’ family reveal the many prisoners who have died or become ill as a result of the Parchman’s environment and staff.
According to a press release from Team Roc, prisoners are subjected to “food [that] is adulterated with rat feces, cockroaches, rocks, bird droppings and other foreign matter” and are “in dire need of medical care for cancer, lupus [and] serious heart defects.”
Gotti first drew attention to the prison last month, when he wrote a letter to former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. After issuing the letter, Gotti and Team Roc announced their first civil lawsuit on behalf of Parchman prisoners. A few weeks ago, they also organized a rally against prisoners’ treatment at Parchman.
The team continues to call for the state’s governor and elected officials to move prisoners out of Parchman into a suitable facility and to close the prison for good. A petition, launched by Color of Change, further demands that the state introduce a formal process to reduce incarceration and investigate the multiple inmate murders.
See Team Roc’s announcement below.