R. Kelly Hospitalized After Prison Overdose: Lawyer

R. Kelly's lawyer has claimed the disgraced singer overdosed on medication provided to him by prison staff.

The court filing claims prison staff provided Kelly, 58, with an "overdose quantity of medications that threatened his life" at the Federal Correctional Institute Facility in North Carolina.

The Bureau of Prisons said it would not comment on "pending litigation."

Kelly is serving a 30-year sentence for his conviction in 2021 for racketeering and sex trafficking offenses.

Why It Matters

On Monday, Beau B. Brindley, an attorney for Kelly, filed a supplement to an emergency motion for temporary furlough. If the motion is granted, Kelly will be temporarily released from custody.

Brindley argued that Kelly is facing a worsening threat to his well-being. He alleged that Bureau of Prisons officers are "seeking to kill Robert Kelly to cover up crimes committed in the investigation of his case."

Prosecutors have previously called Kelly's request for temporary furlough "deeply unserious and theatrical" in nature.

What To Know

Brindley said Kelly takes medications for sleep and anxiety, in addition to other medications. On Thursday, Kelly showed prison staff the medications in his possession, according to the filing.

Brindley said staff instructed Kelly to take additional medication later that evening, which Kelly took as directed.

The next morning, Kelly felt "faint" and "dizzy," his attorney said.

"He started to see black spots in his vision," Brindley said. "Mr. Kelly tried to get up, but fell to the ground. He crawled to the door of the cell and lost consciousness."

After prison staff determined that he could not be treated at the on-site medical facility, Kelly was taken to Duke University Hospital.

"While in the ambulance, he heard one of the prison officers with him state: 'this is going to open a whole new can of worms,'" Brindley wrote in the filing.

Brindley also raised concerns about Kelly's swollen leg, stating that his client has a history of blood clots.

A scan performed at the hospital revealed that Kelly has blood clots in both of his legs, as well as blood clots in his lungs, Brindley said.

Brindley alleges that prison staff removed Kelly from the hospital after learning he would need surgery to clear the clots.

"Mr. Kelly's life is in jeopardy right now because the Bureau of Prisons denied him necessary surgery to clear clots from his lungs," Brindley said. "He could die from this condition, and they are letting it happen. There is no legitimate explanation for that."

What People Are Saying

Brindley, in a supplement to an emergency motion for temporary furlough: "Bureau of Prisons officials administered an amount of medication that significantly exceeded a safe dose and caused Mr. Kelly to overdose, putting his life in jeopardy. They gave him an amount of medicine that could have killed him."

Federal prosecutors, in a response to an emergency motion for temporary furlough: "Kelly now asks this Court to release him from incarceration indefinitely under the guise of a fanciful conspiracy."

What Happens Next

The judge has yet to rule on Kelly's motion for temporary furlough.

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