Lil Durk has been behind bars since 2024, when he was arrested for allegedly orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot.
Lil Durk’s lawyer, Christy O’Connor, says the rapper has been in solitary confinement for four months. In a new motion filed in court on Tuesday, Durk’s legal team claimed jail officials are severely punishing him for allegedly having an Apple Watch behind bars. They suggest the move is a violation of his constitutional rights, as authorities put him there “without process.”
“[Lil Durk] is confined to a very small jail cell, just large enough for a single bed, a toilet, and a sink, for 23 hours a day,” the filing reads. “He does not have access to commissary. He is permitted one phone call a month, and no in-person social visits.” They go on to cite the “well-documented” and “deleterious” effects on an inmate’s psychological well-being from being in solitary confinement for long stretches of time.
Durk’s team cites a study from the American Public Health Association titled “Psychological Distress in Solitary Confinement: Symptoms, Severity, and Prevalence in the United States.” They say it reveals “clinically significant symptoms of depression, anxiety, or guilt,” “disproportionately high rates of serious mental illness and self-harming behavior,” and “social isolation, loss of identity, and sensory hypersensitivity” among inmates in solitary confinement as compared to general population.
“Mr. Banks’ defense team has a growing concern that his prolonged solitary confinement may implicate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’” the filing continues.
Lil Durk’s Latest Instagram Post
On Tuesday, Lil Durk also vented on his Instagram Story about losing touch with many of his friends. “Crazy how you gotta wait until it’s dark out to see who really with you,” he wrote over a black screen.
Lil Durk has been behind bars since 2024. Authorities arrested him on charges of conspiracy, murder-for-hire, and firearm use in a violent crime. He pleaded not guilty and will make his case at trial, which will begin in May. It would’ve begun earlier, but a California judge granted a continuance on Monday.