Rapper Sues California Prison System Over Stabbing Incident

Rapper Tory Lanez has launched a $100 million lawsuit against California’s Correctional Department after a severe stabbing incident whilst imprisoned at the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi in May. The musician, known as Daystar Peterson and presently completing a 10-year sentence for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, was struck 16 times with a blade by fellow inmate Santino Casio in what the lawsuit describes as an “unprovoked dangerous assault.” The attack left Peterson admitted to hospital with a collapsed lung and multiple stab wounds to his back, torso, and head. The lawsuit names the Department of Corrections, the prison warden, and guards as respondents, alleging carelessness regarding inmate placement and a delayed response to the violence.

The May 2025 Attack and Its Aftermath

The May 2025 stabbing incident at Tehachapi represented a watershed moment in Peterson’s incarceration. According to the lawsuit, fellow inmate Santino Casio, who was completing a life sentence for second-degree murder, launched an unprovoked attack that left the rapper fighting for his life. Peterson sustained a punctured lung alongside multiple stab wounds across his back, torso, and head—injuries serious enough to warrant emergency hospitalisation. The attack raised serious questions about prison security protocols and inmate classification procedures, particularly given the volatile circumstances of housing two inmates with such markedly different profiles and threat levels.

Following his recovery, Peterson was relocated to San Luis Obispo County’s California Men’s Colony, marking another chapter in his time in custody. The lawsuit further alleges that during this move, Peterson never recovered his personal items from Tehachapi, including songbooks with lyrics to unreleased music—a loss that exacerbates the psychological and physical harm of the incident. Notably, despite the seriousness of the assault, Casio was not charged in connection with the assault, a detail the lawsuit emphasises as part of systemic failures within the correctional system.

• Casio attacked Peterson 16 times during the unprovoked attack
• Peterson admitted to hospital with collapsed lung and several lacerations
• Relocated to California Men’s Colony upon recovery
• Personal belongings, including songbooks, remained missing from Tehachapi

Claims of Negligence, and Systemic Failure

Accommodation Choices and Safety Issues

At the heart of Peterson’s lawsuit sits a fundamental criticism of the Corrections Department’s decision process regarding prisoner accommodation placements. The legal filing argues that housing Peterson with Santino Casio—a lifer serving time for second-degree murder—constituted a catastrophic failure in risk assessment and inmate classification. The lawsuit argues that the department “knew or should have been known” to identify the danger inherent in this pairing. Peterson’s high-profile celebrity profile, the suit contends, made him an clear target within the prison facility, making the housing decision not simply negligent but recklessly indifferent to his safety and wellbeing.

The lawsuit underscores that such housing decisions demand thorough evaluation of inmate backgrounds, risk assessments, and potential motivations for violence. By not segregating Peterson from Casio, facility management allegedly demonstrated a systemic disregard for fundamental security procedures that should govern California’s prison system. This failure of duty, the counsel argues, immediately caused the circumstances in which the stabbing happened, transforming what should have been preventable violence into an entirely foreseeable consequence of institutional mismanagement and substandard security arrangements.

Response and Security Behaviour

Beyond the primary accommodation decision, the lawsuit challenges correctional officers’ response during the actual assault. According to the filing, correctional officers delayed their intervention when Casio launched his attack, allowing the violence to escalate unchecked. The lawsuit directly challenges the failure to deploy non-lethal devices or other non-lethal intervention methods that might have stopped the attack before Peterson sustained his most severe injuries. This alleged sluggishness in responding to an ongoing stabbing attack suggests either poor preparation, insufficient staffing, or a troubling neglect of inmate wellbeing—each possibility reflecting poorly on institutional competence.

The guards’ behaviour during the crucial minutes of the attack calls into question emergency procedures and personnel readiness within California’s prison system. Standard correctional procedures generally require rapid response to violent incidents, yet the lawsuit suggests this incident deviated significantly from such protocols. The cumulative effect of slow response times and the failure to implement suitable tactical response meant that Peterson’s 16 stab wounds were inflicted with little active opposition from security personnel, converting what could have been a significant event into a critical emergency requiring hospitalisation.

The Wider Context of Lanez’s Incarceration

Tory Lanez’s current imprisonment stems from a high-profile 2020 shooting incident featuring fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion. The confrontation, which occurred during the summer of 2020, led to Peterson firing at Stallion in her foot. After a lengthy legal process, he was convicted in December 2022 on multiple gun-related charges, including assault with a firearm, and thereafter sentenced to a decade in prison. This conviction represented a major turning point in hip-hop, attracting extensive press coverage and sparking substantial discussion across the music sector regarding responsibility and the events related to the incident.

Peterson’s court disputes have persisted during his incarceration, with his defence counsel mounting an appeal challenging the conviction and sentence. However, in November 2025, a panel of three judges rejected his appeal and confirmed the original 10-year sentence, essentially shutting down what many anticipated as an path to release or sentence reduction. This rejection came roughly six months after the stabbing incident at Tehachapi, meaning Peterson was dealing with both the psychological and physical aftermath of the prison attack whilst simultaneously processing the frustration of his unsuccessful appeal. The convergence of these circumstances has substantially complicated his experience within the California correctional system.

Lawful Claims and Damages Claimed

Tory Lanez’s lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections demands $100 million in financial restitution, constituting one of the most significant suits filed against the state’s correctional system in recent years. The court filing names the Department of Corrections as the primary defendant, alongside the warden and prison staff stationed at the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi. The lawsuit asserts that institutional failures in correctional management and safety measures directly contributed to the seriousness of Peterson’s injuries during the 2025 stabbing attack. The significant financial award reflects both the physical trauma sustained and the mental distress of the unprovoked incident.

Central to the lawsuit’s claims is the assertion that prison authorities made a dangerously inadequate decision in housing Peterson with cellmate Santino Casio, who was serving a life term for second-degree murder. The legal filing asserts that the correctional department either knew or ought to have recognised that this housing arrangement posed a significant risk to Peterson, particularly given his prominent inmate status within the facility. Furthermore, the lawsuit challenges the actions of security personnel, arguing that guards failed to employ proper emergency procedures such as flash grenades to stop Casio’s assault. Notably, Casio was never charged with the assault despite causing 16 injuries on Peterson.

• Department of Corrections did not stop known dangerous inmate pairing
• Celebrity status rendered Peterson an identifiable target for violence
• Security personnel delayed response to stabbing incident
• Prison failed to employ flash grenades or other containment measures
• Peterson’s personal possessions, such as unreleased songbooks, are unaccounted for