Federal officials are pushing back R Kelly’s claims that he was kept suicide watch As punishment last week when a judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison for using his fame to sexually abuse young girls.
The US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn filed court papers late Saturday saying the disgraced R&B superstar is under observation of suicide “for his own safety” following a psychological evaluation.
Assistant US Attorney Melanie Speight wrote in a court filing, Kelly’s “current life circumstances undoubtedly bring emotional distress.”
“He is a convicted sex offender sentenced to spend the next three decades in prison,” she said. “In the immediate future, he faces another federal criminal trial in Chicago for child pornography-related charges.”
Kelly’s attorney filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that prison officials placed her on suicide watch at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn “only for punitive purposes and because of her status as a high-profile inmate” , adding that Kelly had no thoughts of harming herself.
Lawyer Jennifer Bonzen wrote in the lawsuit, “Nothing happened during the sentence that came as a surprise to Mr. Kelly.” “While the terms of the Suicide Watch may be appropriate for individuals who are actually at risk of self-injury, they are cruel and unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment to individuals who are not suicidal.”
Kelly, 55, made no statement and did not react to hearing her sentence, which also included a $100,000 fine.
The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling songwriter was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking last year. He has denied wrongdoing, and he plans to appeal his conviction.
Financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself behind bars in 2019 while awaiting trial by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on charges he committed in the early 2000s to 14-year-old girls and women in New York and Florida. Sexually abused young women.
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