Photo Credit: Beyonce/Instagram
Jay-Z warned the state of Mississippi of his intent to sue them over their deplorable prison conditions last week and just chose to follow through with his threat Tuesday on behalf of 29 inmates. The lawsuit cites days of prisoners going without electricity and water, flooding conditions, mold, mice, etc, stating it violates the 8th amendment which forbids “cruel and unusual punishments.” Then there’s the violence. Five men died incarcerated in the state due to violence as a result of underfunded prisons.
In recent years we’ve seen the First Step Act which addressed sentencing issues on the federal level by the Trump administration. Then there’s Meek Mill who has taken on probation reform considering how he kept getting in trouble and being on a tight leash for years in and out of prison for minor offenses. A significant amount of states have now either legalized or decriminalized marijuana which will lower incarceration rates, but Jay-Z is addressing something that’s commonly overlooked. Prison conditions are of grave concern across the country and somehow hasn’t made it into the mainstream discussion regarding criminal justice reform.
This lawsuit came about when rapper Yo Gotti found out about these conditions and enlisted the help of Roc Nation’s Team Roc outreach arm to write an initial letter about this and now it’s turned into a full on lawsuit. And if you think this is some celebrity pet project they made up as an issue, you’re mistaken. Federal agents have gotten involved and the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jackson division and the state’s two U.S. attorneys have started asking citizens if they’re aware of civil rights violations or criminal activity within the state’s prison system. This is not a joke and we’re happy to see Jay-Z and Yo Gotti addressing this problem and bringing it to the forefront.
