Tory Lanez has sued the California prisons system for $100million (£74million) after a stabbing incident last May.
The rapper – real name Daystar Peterson – is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence after being convicted in December 2022 of the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion in her foot in 2020.
In May last year, he was hospitalised after being stabbed a total of 16 times in his back, torso and head in what his lawsuit describes as an “unprovoked” and “life-threatening” attack from a fellow inmate at the California Correctional Institution at Tehachapi. The attack left him with multiple injuries, including a collapsed lung.
As reported by the Associated Press, the new lawsuit also names the California Department of Corrections, as well as the warden and guards at the prison in question.
The suit criticises the Department for housing Peterson with the alleged attacker Santino Casio, who was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, saying the “choice to house Casio with Peterson was known or should have been a known danger”, given Peterson’s ”high-profile celebrity status”.
It also claims that prison guards were slow to respond to the attack and did not use adequate measures to protect Peterson. The suit also alleges that Peterson never received his possessions from Tehachapi, including a songbook with lyrics to unreleased music, after he was relocated to a prison in San Luis Obispo County.
In December 2022, Lanez was found guilty of three felonies related to the shooting. Prosecutors on the case were seeking a 13-year sentence, while the maximum sentence he could have received was 22 years and eight months. He is eligible for parole in 2029.
Megan has since successfully obtained a five-year restraining order against Lanez, telling the court she feared she may be shot again if Lanez were released from prison. The restraining order now will be in place until January 2030.
Following the prison attack last May, Drake shared a petition calling for Lanez to be freed, while SZA spoke out against Lanez’ supporters who had been harassing Megan Thee Stallion after the incident.
Reneé Rapp, meanwhile, said after the attack: “I feel like a lot of people get stabbed and that’s OK,” Rapp said in the interview. “Maybe we should be doing it more. Maybe we should be stabbing more.”
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