Healthcare Provider Cuts Ties with Mississippi Dept. of Corrections After Jay-Z and Yo Gotti Lawsuit

The Mississippi Department of Corrections, which is being sued by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s Team Roc and hip-hop artist Mario “Yo Gotti” Mims for “inhumane conditions in prisons,” is losing its healthcare provider, according to CBS News.

Centurion terminated its multimillion-dollar relationship with the Mississippi Department of Corrections after Team ROC and Yo Gotti hired lawyers to represent 227 Mississippi inmates over the conditions in the prison. The lawsuit, filed in January, named the Department of Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall and Mississippi State Penitentiary Superintendent Marshall Turner as defendants in the case.

“These deaths are a direct result of Mississippi’s utter disregard for the people it has incarcerated and their constitutional rights,” read’s the lawsuit filed by Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, at the U.S. District Court in Greenville, Mississippi.

In a letter sent from Centurion early last month, the Mississippi Department of Corrections was informed that it was terminating its relationship effective October 5, 2020.

“As we previously shared, we do not believe we can further improve the effectiveness of our level of care without additional investment from the Department in correctional staffing and infrastructure along the lines of what we have already recommended,” wrote Steven H. Wheeler, CEO of Centurion.

Marcy Croft, the lead attorney for Team ROC, said she hopes Centurion’s decision to end the relationship “sends a clear message to Governor Tate Reeves—it’s time to invest in the health and well-being of the people in your prisons.”

“There is no excuse for the 53 deaths across the Mississippi prison system over the past several months, many of which were preventable,” Croft said in a statement. “We will not stop until the incarcerated receive consistent and competent medical care, especially now with the COVID-19 crisis. This must be a priority.”