REALLY! Jay-Z Investing Millions In Company That Tracks Parolees?!?!
Jay-Z is under fire for his recent investment. Jay-Z fans are reportedly outraged over his reported investment in a startup company that assists state and local governments to track parolees via GPS monitoring technology.
According to the Vera Institute of Justice, 62 percent of the jail population nationwide consists for folks who can’t afford bail, and many are incarcerated for non-violent/misdemeanor offenses. This is where Promise comes in.
The program is a de-carceration startup that raised $3 million earlier this year with participation from Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, 8VC and Kapor Capital. Last Father’s Day, the rapper penned an op-ed about the bail industry and how every year, $9 billion is spent incarcerating individuals who have not been convicted of crimes.
“We are increasingly alarmed by the injustice in our criminal justice system,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “Money, time and lives are wasted with the current policies. It’s time for an innovative and progressive technology that offers sustainable solutions to tough problems. Promise’s team, led by co-founder and CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, is building an app that can help provide ‘liberty and justice for all’ to millions.”
