A&E, Roc Nation, Good Caper team for investigative series on Parchman Prison

A&E Network has partnered with hip-hop legend and business mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s Roc Nation for a four-part docuseries that will investigate the conditions within Mississippi’s maximum-security Parchman Prison and the progress of the civil rights lawsuits filed on behalf of the prison’s inmates by Carter (pictured), rapper and entrepreneur Yo Gotti, and Roc Nation’s philanthropic wing Team Roc in 2020.

Produced by Roc Nation, ITV America’s Good Caper Content, and Red Summer for A&E Network, Exposing Parchman (w/t) will delve into the history of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, which acquired the name “Parchman” from its first warden, who also provided the former plantation land on which the prison was situated.

A successful 1971 lawsuit filed by four inmates resulted in a court decision that found the prison culpable of overcrowding its Black inmates, as well as exerting more severe discipline towards them than their white counterparts and practicing racial segregation of inmates, in violation of U.S. law. Despite this, for the last 50 years inmates and their families have continued to draw attention to alleged practices of deprivation and violence against Parchman’s majority Black population, with the December 2019 release of clandestine cell phone footage from within the prison walls sparking the latest lawsuit.

The docuseries will tell the stories of the inmates and their families, as well as document the growing scope of the legal case against Parchman and explore how this one institution is only a particularly glaring example of endemic issues within the U.S. penal system.

“A&E has the privilege to partner with Roc Nation to tell the truly urgent story of Parchman Prison as we continue our commitment to impactful programming,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming for A&E, in a statement. “The series is emblematic of larger issues within the U.S. criminal justice system, and we hope it spurs desperately needed awareness both at Parchman Prison, and nationwide.”

“We are honored to develop this series with A&E, Good Caper and ITV to continue to make sure the atrocities and history of Parchman are top of mind on a national stage,” added Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez.

Exposing Parchman is executive produced for Good Caper Content by Jordana Hochman and Jeanmarie Condon, and for Red Summer by Rahman Ali Bugg. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro and Brad Abramson serve as executive producers for A&E. Worldwide rights to the series will be held by A+E Networks.