Tory Lanez sues California prison system for $100 million after stabbing

Tory Lanez has sued the California prison system for $100 million after saying he was stabbed 16 times inside the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, suffering a collapsed lung and injuries that required an airlift to a hospital. The federal lawsuit targets the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the warden and guards at the prison, and says the attack was an “unprovoked life-threatening attack” carried out with a homemade shank.

The complaint says the assailant was inmate Santino Casio, who is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder. It also points to Casio’s prior prison-related convictions in 2008 and 2018, arguing that officials knew or should have known that housing Casio with Lanez was dangerous. One reported valuation in the filing puts the injuries at $1 million per stab wound.

The case adds a new legal battle around a prisoner already serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion. Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was convicted after the high-profile Los Angeles case and later saw that conviction upheld on appeal in November 2025. The California Supreme Court then rejected his bid to overturn it, leaving the singer in state custody when the stabbing occurred on May 12, 2025.

Beyond the celebrity name, the lawsuit puts prison safety practices under a sharper spotlight. It asks whether California correctional officials properly classified Casio, monitored risk inside the facility and protected an inmate housed with a prisoner who had a documented history of violent conduct and weapons-related incidents behind bars. The claims also raise the possibility of liability when state officials fail to prevent an assault in a controlled setting that is supposed to keep inmates safe.

For the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the case is likely to test how much responsibility the state bears when a prisoner with a known record of violence is placed near another inmate who becomes the victim. The filing turns one stabbing in Tehachapi into a broader challenge over institutional judgment, inmate placement and the state’s duty to prevent preventable violence inside its prisons.