A federal judge in Chicago, Illinois has denied singer R. Kelly’s request to be released from a prison on home confinement. Kelly, 58, is serving 30 years in a North Carolina federal prison for a 2021 conviction on sex crimes and racketeering charges.
The emergency motion for Kelly’s release was filed June 17 in a Chicago courthouse. Judge Martha Pacold denied the motion on June 19, according to USA TODAY. Pacold said her court doesn’t have the jurisdiction to release Kelly.
Kelly was rushed to a North Carolina hospital on June 13 after suffering a drug overdose. Prison officials confirmed Kelly overdosed on medication administered by prison medical staff.
A prison doctor prescribed anti-anxiety and sleep medication for Kelly’s nervous condition. On June 13, the prison medical staff instructed him to take more of the medications.
Soon after, Kelly reported feeling faint, dizzy, and seeing black spots in his vision. He lost consciousness and was rushed to Duke University Hospital.
He was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs and both legs at Duke University Medical Center. Doctors recommended surgery but prison officials rejected the recommendation.
Kelly’s lawyers claim that less than an hour later, armed prison guards arrived and forcibly removed Kelly from the hospital room and transported him back to prison.
Kelly’s attorneys previously asked President Donald Trump for a pardon because his life is in danger. He was placed in solitary confinement for his safety on June 10 after a former member of the Aryan Brotherhood said he was asked by prison officials to kill Kelly.
