A rapper who complained about “inhumane” solitary confinement conditions has access to Netflix, federal prosecutors said.
Pooh Shiesty, 26, — who’s in jail for a stickup of fellow rapper Gucci Mane — filed a motion arguing his pretrial conditions at Rolling Plains Regional Jail in Haskell, Texas were excessively “restrictive,”” KDWF-TV reported Friday.
The Memphis rapper, whose real name is Lontrell Williams Jr., was being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and allotted only two visitation hours a month ahead of his trial on federal kidnapping and armed robbery charges, his lawyers claimed in court documents filed Oct. 15
“Prolonged near-total isolation is well recognized to carry serious psychological risks, including anxiety, depression, and impaired concentration,” the motion said.
The feds sneered at the request to end his isolation, arguing Williams has sent or received some 12,000 emails and made 230 video calls on his tablet, which also allows him to play video games and watch Netflix and NFL football, according to the outlet.
“It can hardly be said that these conditions of confinement are inhumane, and therefore this emergency motion should be denied outright,” US Attorney Ryan Raybould said in the government’s response, according to the outlet.
Prosecutors also noted he had not had a visitor since late August and had been placed in solitary after he admitted to taking fentanyl and because other inmates had hounded the “Back in Blood” rapper for his autograph.
The 1017 Records recording artist’s charges date back to a January incident where he allegedly held label head Mane at gunpoint and ordered him to sign paperwork that released him from his contract while eight associates allegedly stole Rolex watches, jewelry, cash and attacked one of Mane’s associates, court documents show.
The incident was not Pooh Shiesty’s first run-in with the law — in 2021 he was arrested for shooting a strip club bouncer in the leg, and was previously busted for other drugs, guns and robbery charges.
He pleaded guilty to firearms and drug trafficking charges, federal prosecutors said, and was sentenced to five years in prison. Shiesty got out of prison early in 2025 due to a combination of time served and good behavior, WCSC-TV reported.
