Lawyers representing R. Kelly have claimed in new court documents that the disgraced R&B singer was subjected to an “overdose” incident orchestrated by prison staff.
R. Kelly, who is serving a 30-year sentence in North Carolina following convictions for federal racketeering and sex trafficking of minors, was allegedly in solitary confinement on 12 June when prison staff directed him to take an “overdose quantity of medication,” according to filings submitted on Monday and Tuesday.
The 58-year-old reportedly became “faint” and “dizzy” the following morning. His legal team stated that after attempting to stand, Kelly collapsed, crawling to the cell door before losing consciousness. He was subsequently transported by ambulance to Duke University Hospital, where he received medical care for two days.
The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on the matter when approached by AFP, citing “privacy, safety, and security reasons” as well as ongoing legal proceedings.
Kelly’s lawyers had earlier filed an emergency motion seeking his release to home detention, claiming he was the target of a murder plot orchestrated by prison officials. However, federal prosecutors dismissed these allegations as “fanciful” and “theatrical,” arguing that the motion “makes a mockery of the harm suffered by Kelly’s victims” and was submitted to the wrong court, lacking jurisdiction to consider such claims.
The singer, best known for hits like I Believe I Can Fly, was convicted in 2021 in a New York federal court for leading a criminal enterprise that systematically recruited and exploited teenagers and women for sex. In 2022, a separate Chicago federal court found him guilty of producing child pornography and enticing a minor.
Kelly is currently serving his New York sentence, with the Chicago sentence being served almost entirely concurrently.
