Yo Gotti and Roc Nation have threatened to file a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi for fostering an “inhumane” prison system.
Last Thursday, the duo sent a letter to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and the state’s Department of Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall threatening to sue if conditions are not improved. According to the Clarion-Ledger, the letter included mentions of staffing shortages, violence and inmates who “are forced to live in squalor, with rats that crawl over them as they sleep on the floor, having been denied even a mattress for a cot.”
After the letter was sent, Alex Spiro of Roc Nation stated, “I just think it’s troubling where you have people, predominantly African American, who are locked inside cages where they don’t have a voice to be heard and are essentially the forgotten.”
“It strikes us that there has to be a spotlight on this, otherwise we might not even be scratching the surface of the horror going on inside these prisons,” he added.
Memphis native Yo Gotti also added his two cents. He said, “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,” he concluded.
Clean up continues at the Mississippi State Penitentiary's Unit 29 from the recent unrest. pic.twitter.com/rhfViRX4zU
— MDOC (@MS_MDOC) January 10, 2020
Just forty-eight hours after the letter was sent, the Mississippi Department of Corrections issued a statement regarding clean-up in Mississippi State Penitentiary’s Unit 29 . They tweeted, “Clean up continues at the Mississippi State Penitentiary’s Unit 29 from the recent unrest.”
