R. Kelly collapsed in his North Carolina prison cell after being given what his lawyer says was a dangerous overdose of medication while in solitary confinement.
The incident allegedly took place just days after Kelly’s legal team accused prison officials of plotting to harm him.
According to court filings viewed by AllHipHop, the 58-year-old singer was placed in isolation on Tuesday (June 10) and given additional medication by staff on Thursday (June 12).
The next morning, he reportedly fainted, experienced dizziness and vision loss and was rushed to Duke University Hospital.
Doctors determined he had received a life-threatening dose of medication and kept him under observation for two days. His attorney now alleges the overdose was not accidental.
“That means that, within two days of the filing of his motion, 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,” R. Kelly’s lawyer Beau B. Brindley said. “They gave him an amount of medicine that could have killed him.”
The emergency motion, filed in Illinois on Monday (June 16), is the third request for a temporary release to home confinement. Kelly’s legal team argues that his life is in danger behind bars, citing not only the overdose but also a recent declaration from another inmate, Mikeal Glenn Stine, who claimed prison staff and white supremacist groups were conspiring to kill the singer to cover up misconduct during his prosecution.
After Stine’s statement surfaced, R. Kelly was moved to solitary confinement, according to his lawyer, who said the conditions there are inhumane, alleging that he sleeps with spiders crawling on him, has no access to phone calls and cannot eat food from the commissary.
Kelly has reportedly gone days without eating due to fears of being poisoned. While hospitalized, doctors also discovered blood clots in both of Kelly’s legs and lungs.
They recommended surgery, but prison officials allegedly forcibly removed him from the hospital against medical advice.
“Within an hour, officers with guns came into his hospital room and removed Mr. Kelly,” Brindley added. “He was taken from the hospital against his will and against the directives of the doctors. He was denied the surgery he needs to clear blood clots in his lungs that threaten his life. This happened. This will be confirmed by hospital records. It is undeniable,” Brindley added.
The officers returned him to solitary confinement. The legal filing claims these actions are not coincidental.
R. Kelly is currently serving a 30-year sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering. His legal team is urging the court to approve an emergency furlough, arguing that his life cannot be protected inside the facility.
Related
