Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer R. Kelly was rushed to hospital earlier this week after collapsing in the North Carolina prison where he is currently serving time for child sex crimes and racketeering. Attorneys representing the 58-year-old have since filed an emergency motion for his release, citing mistreatment by prison officials. 

In a series of legal filings submitted by Kelly’s representatives beginning last week (June 10), it was alleged that prison guards at the Butner, North Carolina federal facility had sought out leaders of a white supremacist prison gang to murder him and prevent the release of incriminating information about the facility. Following this accusation, Kelly’s attorneys say that the singer was moved to solitary confinement. 

While in isolation, Kelly was allegedly prescribed a high dose of anxiety medication, which led to dizziness and then his eventual collapse. Kelly was then transported to Duke University Hospital, where he was revealed to be suffering from blood clots in his lungs and legs. They claim that he was “forcibly” returned to solitary confinement early, ignoring medical advice to keep him in the hospital. 

“These people did overdose him. They did leave him with blood clots in his lungs and remove him from a hospital that sought to do surgery to remove them,” alleged Kelly’s attorney Beau B. Brindley in a filing submitted yesterday (June 17). “And they did it within days of his exposure of a plan to kill him set forth by Bureau of Prisons officials.” 

In light of these allegations, Kelly’s legal representative called for the singer to be moved to temporary home confinement to protect his safety. In yesterday’s statement, Brindley also called on President Trump to “pardon” Kelly, writing: “The courts do not move as quickly as the efforts to kill this man. President Trump may be the only person who can save the life of R. Kelly.”

However, government attorneys staunchly deny the narrative, writing: “Kelly has never taken responsibility for his years of sexually abusing children, and he probably never will […] Undeterred, Kelly now asks this Court to release him from incarceration indefinitely under the guise of a fanciful conspiracy.”

Through pop-R&B hits like “Ignition”, “I Believe I Can Fly” and “Bump N Grind”, Kelly stands as one of the best-selling artists of all-time, but fell from grace in 2019 after his arrest and subsequent conviction on multiple charges of federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving the sexual abuse of minors. The singer is currently serving a 31-year sentence concurrently for his crimes.