Judge denies R.Kelly’s request to be placed on home detention

A federal judge has denied a motion to release R. Kelly to home confinement after his lawyers claimed an assassination attempt was made against the convicted musician. 

The denial comes days after defense lawyers said Kelly was hospitalized for an overdose of medication administered by prison officials. The bombshell allegation also came shortly after Kelly’s attorneys alleged that prison officials directed another inmate to kill the R&B singer in exchange for the inmate’s freedom. 

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is serving a 30-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina, after his 2021 New York conviction of racketeering and sex trafficking. 

U.S. District Court Judge Martha Pacold denied Kelly’s motion on Thursday, June 19, ruling that she “lacks jurisdiction over this matter.” 

This month, Kelly’s attorney has filed a flurry of motions seeking to get the “Ignition” singer released to home confinement. 

Prosecutors have responded to Kelly’s request and allegations in court filings, calling them “deeply unserious and theatrical” and “repugnant to the sentence that this Court imposed for deeply disturbing offenses.” 

In court filings last week, Kelly’s lawyer accused prison officials of soliciting another inmate, Mikeal Glenn Stine, to k!ll the singer. At the same time, the pair was detained at a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, this spring. 

The court filing alleged that prison officials offered to free Stine, who has a terminal illness, in exchange for killing Kelly.
Shortly after the allegation was made, Kelly’s attorney claimed in court that his client was moved to solitary confinement. 

Kelly’s lawyer this week alleged the singer was hospitalized on Friday after prison officials allegedly administered him an overdose of medication, according to a court filing. The filing alleged that prison officials then moved Kelly back to solitary confinement, taking him out of the hospital against doctors’ orders. 

“Mr. Kelly’s life is in danger, and that danger is coming from Bureau of Prisons officials and their actions,” the Monday court filing states. “Mr. Kelly needs this Court’s intervention. His life actually depends on it.” 

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that it does “not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual” and “does not comment on pending litigation.” 

Amid the slew of jaw-dropping court filings, Kelly’s attorney also told media outlets last week that he is trying to seek a presidential pardon for his client.