Federal prosecutors in Texas say a rapper facing kidnapping and armed robbery charges has no grounds to complain about being held in near-total isolation before trial — because he has access to Netflix, video games and NFL football on a jail-issued tablet.
Lontrell Williams Jr., 26, the Memphis rapper known as Pooh Shiesty, is being held at Rolling Plains Regional Jail in Haskell, Texas, ahead of trial on federal kidnapping and armed robbery charges tied to a January incident involving fellow rapper Gucci Mane. His attorneys filed a motion on Oct. 15 arguing that his pretrial confinement conditions — 23 hours a day in solitary, with only two hours of visitation allowed per month — are unconstitutionally restrictive.
“Prolonged near-total isolation is well recognized to carry serious psychological risks, including anxiety, depression, and impaired concentration,” the defense motion stated.
The government’s response, filed by U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould, rejected the claim outright, pointing to Williams’ tablet usage as evidence the conditions are not as severe as described. According to KDWF-TV, prosecutors say Williams has sent or received roughly 12,000 emails and made 230 video calls since being jailed, in addition to streaming Netflix and watching NFL games.
“It can hardly be said that these conditions of confinement are inhumane, and therefore this emergency motion should be denied outright,” Raybould wrote.
Prosecutors also disclosed that Williams has not had an in-person visitor since late August. They said he was placed in solitary confinement after admitting to taking fentanyl, and because other inmates had repeatedly pestered him for autographs.
The case stems from a January incident in which Williams allegedly held Gucci Mane at gunpoint and forced him to sign paperwork releasing him from his record contract, while eight associates allegedly stole Rolex watches, jewelry and cash, and assaulted one of Mane’s associates, according to court documents.
It is not Williams’ first brush with the law. He was arrested in 2021 for shooting a strip club bouncer in the leg and has previously faced drug, gun and robbery charges. He later pleaded guilty to federal firearms and drug trafficking charges and was sentenced to five years in prison, getting out early in 2025 due to time served and good behavior, according to WCSC-TV.
Whatever the merits of the underlying criminal case, the dispute over his treatment behind bars raises a question that extends well beyond one rapper: whether pretrial detainees — people not yet convicted of the charges against them — should be held in extended isolation at all, and whether access to a streaming service is a meaningful substitute for human contact.
