R. Kelly was attacked in prison by an inmate wielding a pen.
The extent of R. Kelly’s injuries, first reported last week by several outlets, has finally been clarified. The R&B legend’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, who claimed his client was attacked on August 28, said he had “received conflicting reports as to the extent of his injuries” and had “not been provided any information from the jail.” However, it seems the R&B trailblazer narrowly escaped with his life. Kelly was violently attacked and almost stabbed by another inmate, and his lawyer has again requested his release from jail.
According to a motion filed by Greenberg seeking R. Kelly’s release on bail, Kelly was asleep in his cell at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Centre when a “violent” inmate gained access to his cell. Creeping in on him, the inmate started “stomping on [Kelly’s] head, repeatedly,” he said. Greenberg also alleged the attacker also had “an ink pen with him that he was going to use to stab Mr. Kelly,” but other inmates grabbed him before he could strike.
“This is an inmate that never should have been anywhere near Mr. Kelly, an individual who is charged with the most violent of crimes, and one who plainly has no respect for the rules, he has the phrase ‘F*** The Feds’ tattooed on his face,” Greenberg said in court docs. He said his client “mostly remains in his cell… to ensure his own safety” but officials have since moved the “Ignition” singer for his protection. Details on the developing story are that the attacker was allegedly angry over recent lockdowns triggered by protestors supporting R Kelly outside of the jail.
In a motion filed in court, Greenberg noted that there has always been a lockdown whenever there’s a “pro-R. Kelly protest” in the visinity of the jail he’s housed, approximately half-dozen of these type protests took placed since the singer’s incarceration. Greenberg link the attacked on R. Kelly to resentment from other inmates over these types of protests that triggered a prison lockdown. He also drew contrast to the lack of lockdown during other types of unrest in the city such as protests and lootings.
R. Kelly has been incarcerated for more than a year awaiting trial on sex abuse charges, with several cases filed against him in states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. His legal team has been lobbying for him to be released on bail prior to his October court date, however, he’s been denied three times, with a Brooklyn judge citing a “strong possibility of witness tampering.”
“The government cannot ensure his safety, and they cannot give him his day in court,” Mr. Greenberg recently tweeted. “We should not incarcerate people indefinitely because we cannot provide them with due process.” For now, Kelly remains in lockup though it’s unclear whether he’s still in solitary confinement.
Regardless, it is time to release Mr. Kelly. The government cannot ensure his safety, and they cannot give him his day in court. We should not incarcerate people indefinitely because we cannot provide them with due process!
— Steve Greenberg (@SGcrimlaw) August 27, 2020
Court records confirm that Greenberg proposed the “I Wish” crooner live in an apartment close to the courthouse with electronic monitoring. However, the presiding judge has not yet responded to the motion.
