Jay-Z and Yo Gotti dismiss federal lawsuit against Mississippi prison after upgrades
The lawsuit filed by Jay-Z's Team Roc in 2020 on behalf of dozens of inmates alleged revolting conditions at the state prison in Parchman.
When Jay-Z's Team Roc, the social justice arm of the rap mogul's entertainment company, first filed federal lawsuits in early 2020 on behalf of over 200 prisoners at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, the inmates alleged revolting conditions: rat feces, cockroaches and bird droppings contaminating their meals; broken lights, toilets and showers in a "perpetual state of systemic failure"; and a deprivation of medical care that required the self-treatment of wounds.
The accusations were so alarming that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division launched an investigation around that same time across Mississippi's prison system in the wake of a string of violent deaths, lockdowns and protests outside the state Capitol to "shut it down," referring to Parchman.
But over the past couple of years conditions at the prison seem to have improved substantially — enough so that last week Team Roc agreed to dismiss the claims in its lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections, signaling that one of Parchman’s fiercest critics is now confident that the only maximum security prison for men in the state appears to be turning a new page.
The changes include providing two functioning ambulances at the medical center at Parchman, replacing an outdated van; new stainless-steel showers, toilets and sinks; upgraded heating, air conditioning, ventilation and plumbing systems; recreational activities, such as basketball, flag football and boxing; the replacement of broken tiles and the removal of mold; and the opening of kitchen operations in additional units.
Republican-run prison rebuked by Biden DOJ for abuse, violence and scalding, inhumane conditionsJuly 21, 202206:39"We are pleased with the changes made to date and the improvements in the day to day lives of the guys' inside," said attorney Jordan Siev, a partner at Reed Smith LLP in New York who is working with Team Roc. "But we're also cognizant of the fact that Parchman has had a long history of lawsuits, improvements and then backsliding conditions."
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