Yo Gotti Teams with Meek Mill’s REFORM Alliance for Mississippi Reform Campaign

The REFORM Alliance has announced the launch of a new radio campaign in Mississippi that will feature multiplatinum musician and criminal justice advocate Yo Gotti.

In the campaign, Gotti urges for legislators to continue to fight for justice reform efforts like SB 2123, which was vetoed last month by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. The campaign also directs listeners to a website where they can contact their legislators.

“REFORM and I share the same goals ­– to protect the people inside of Mississippi’s prisons, fix the dangerous prison conditions that led to several unnecessary deaths and improve the state’s criminal justice system,” Gotti said. “I’m proud to team up with REFORM on this initiative and we hope that Mississippi lawmakers will prioritize this issue and help us save lives.”

Previously, Gotti has assisted in procuring legal representation for the incarcerated population in Parchman and filed multiple lawsuits against the Mississippi Department of Corrections for the dire living conditions. The latest lawsuit resulted in a terminated contract between health provider Centurion and MDOC. Recently, Gotti and his team have worked to compel Parchman prison to abide by strict COVID-19 testing and compliance guidelines after discovering that only 132 of the 2,034 incarcerated individuals had been tested and 33 percent were positive for the virus.

COVID-19 testing and compliance guidelines after discovering that only 132 of the 2,034 incarcerated individuals had been tested and 33 percent were positive for the virus. This allowed for a pathway to parole eligibility for thousands of incarcerated people and would have saved the state $45 million, which could be invested in prison conditions at facilities like Parchman. 56 people have died or been killed in Parchman this year and 100 people who live or work in the prison have tested positive for COVID-19.

Reeves vetoed the legislation despite the promise to address the issues in the prison and an active investigation into the conditions by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Governor Reeves said he wouldn’t make ’empty promises’ on prison reform, but by vetoing SB 2123, he went back on his word,” said Jessica Jackson, Chief Advocacy Officer at REFORM Alliance.”SB 2123 is a commonsense, conservative-backed bill that will reduce Mississippi’s extraordinarily high incarceration rate and save tens of millions of dollars that can be used to fix horrific prison conditions that are the subject of an ongoing U.S. Justice Department investigation. Our new campaign recognizes the effort lawmakers have made on prison reform and encourages them to continue fighting for incarcerated individuals and families in Mississippi who deserve justice and a second chance.”

The radio campaign marks REFORM’s effort for common-sense parole reform in Mississippi that protects public safety and helps people earn a second chance. It also follows the digital day of action in the state featuring several other local and national groups, including Fwd.us, Mississippi Dreams Prisoner Advocacy, RECH Foundation, and Clergy for Prison Reform.