Update 08/14/2020 3:02pm:
Last month, it was reported that Jay-Z, Yo Gotti, and Team ROC were suing Missippi's Parchman Prison over the conditions surrounding a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility. This week, the group filed additional legal documents accusing the prison of violating COVID guidelines.
According to the submitted documents, only 132 of the 2,034 inmates were tested for the coronavirus as of July 30. About 33 percent of the tests came back positive and one of the infected inmates recently died. Team ROC and Yo Gotti also say that the prison's infection rate was due to noncompliance with COVID-19 guidelines and are requesting Missippi officials to make the Parchman implement stricter rules around the pandemic.
The documents provided an example of three inmates being tested for the coronavirus but were still moved to units occupied by non-infected inmates before their test results confirmed that they were infected. Attorneys for the group also claim some prison employees have been spotted without protective equipment and do not verbally screen attorney visitors or staff at the entrance to the facility.
"It’s a travesty that Parchman continues to neglect the lives of the people in their prisons and expose them to the deadly COVID-19 virus," said Team ROC attorney, Marcy Croft. "Not only are they failing to comply with the basic COVID-19 prevention and testing protocols, but they’re recklessly spreading the virus within the prison by housing infected people with healthy ones. We even have concerns that our attorneys may have been exposed while visiting Parchman, which is why we’re calling for immediate transparency and stricter compliance."
Source: Complex
Original 07/11/2020 2:33pm:
Update 07/11/2020 2:09pm:
Yo Gotti sat down with Al Sharpton in March 2020 to speak on the jail conditions in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. It was noted the conditions were horrid, and that he was planning on joining Jay-Z and Roc Nation, who planned on suing the prison. Now, it has been revealed Yo Gotti and Jay-Z are actually suing Parchman Prison over the COVID-19 outbreak.
Court documents that surfaced from the lawsuit said a COVID-19 questionnaire provided to inmates by Jay-Z and Yo Gotti revealed that prisoners did not have the proper PPE, medical care, and social distancing procedures needed to ensure there was no spread of coronavirus. Along with that, multiple inmates noted they were suffering from coronavirus symptoms but were not being appropriately treated for their conditions.
Also seen in the documents was a statement issued by Yo Gotti that said: “The situation in Parchman is 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. 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." Stay tuned for more details on this matter.
source: Complex
Original 03/10/2020 1:51pm:
Yo Gotti recently sat down with Al Sharpton on his MSNBC show Politics Nation to speak about joining Jay Z to sue the Mississippi Department of Corrections over the cruel and torturous conditions in Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
Yo Gotti, who was joined by attorney Jordan Siev, explained that people would be upset if they saw animals being treated the way the inmates were being treated. He then spoke about his family members spending time in prison, but Yo Gotti added that they're still people at the end of the day. To hear more, including what he wants people to do to get involved, hit the above clip.
