JAY-Z and Team Roc file new lawsuit for Mississippi prison reform
The Roc Nation philanthropic arm has been fighting for inmates at Parchman Prison since December.
JAY-Z and Roc Nation’s philanthropic arm Team Roc have filed their third lawsuit in their continued fight for improved living conditions at Parchman Prison in Mississippi.
On Wednesday (May 27), Team Roc filed a new suit against Centene Corporation, which is responsible for healthcare at Parchman. The suit was also filed in a joint effort with an unnamed Centene stockholder, who raised concerns over “the company’s failure to provide proper oversight over the quality of medical care,” according to a press release.
“Centurion and its board of directors are proud of the company’s history of providing outstanding and innovative health-care solutions to this vulnerable population,” Centene spokeswoman Marcela Hawn responded to the claims in a statement. “We look forward to sharing more about our role in the delivery of healthcare to these individuals during legal proceedings.”
“Over 40 inmates dying in the last few months at Mississippi DOC alone is neither outstanding nor innovative,” attorney Alex Spiro, who works on behalf of the Parchman inmates, told TMZ. “And it’s definitely nothing to be proud of.”
Spiro filed Team Roc’s first lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections back in January, alleging that the deaths of Parchman inmates were “a direct result of Mississippi’s utter disregard for the people it has incarcerated and their constitutional rights.”
In February, a second lawsuit was filed against Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioners Pelicia Hall and Superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary of Parchman Marshal Turner on behalf of 152 inmates.
During Team Roc’s five-month campaign against the mistreatment of prisoners at Parchman Prison, which has been helmed by Yo Gotti and JAY-Z, the philanthropic organization has also called for improved health and safety measures via an open letter to previous Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. The reform efforts have also included calling for a Coronavirus prevention plan at the facility.