Singer R. Kelly was put on suicide watch at a detention center in Brooklyn, New York, even though he does not intend to harm himself, his lawyer said.
The man termed the “King of R&B” has not been suicidal and was likely put on suicide watch for “punitive reasons,” his lawyer insisted.
“Mr. Kelly was placed on suicide watch for purely punitive reasons in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights,” Kelly’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said, per Fox News. “MDC has a policy of placing high profile individuals under the harsh conditions of suicide watch whether they are suicidal or not. MDC Brooklyn is being run like a gulag.”
R. KELLY RECEIVES 30-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR RACKETEERING AND SEX TRAFFICKING
Bonjean plans to file a complaint in court, decrying the move from the federal detention facility as “illegal.” After his sentencing, Kelly stressed he was fine and raised concerns that he may be placed under suicide watch despite not being suicidal, she said.
The singer was put on suicide watch because he was a prominent public figure, prosecutors told Bonjean. She asked him to email her after his sentencing Wednesday but has not received an email, reports said.
Kelly was hit with a 30-year prison sentence and a $100,000 fine on Wednesday after he was found guilty on nine charges of racketeering and sex trafficking last September. The racketeering charges included over a dozen instances of alleged kidnapping, sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, and sex trafficking over a roughly 25-year period.
Prosecutors panned him as a serial sexual predator and accused him of exploiting his fame to prey on victims for his own gratification.
His defense team has signaled it will appeal the sentencing and has voiced optimism about its prospects of winning an appeal.
The Bureau of Prisons said it “does not provide information about conditions of confinement or internal security practices for any particular inmate.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Kelly’s lawyer for comment.
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News of Kelly’s placement on suicide watch follows reports of another convicted sex criminal, Ghislaine Maxwell, being placed on suicide watch. As with Kelly, Maxwell’s lawyers claimed she was not suicidal. A few days later, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sex trafficking and other crimes.
Her former boyfriend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died under disputed circumstances in prison in 2019. Some medical experts claim it was the result of suicide, while public speculation runs rampant that he was felled by foul play as a result of his proximity to powerful figures such as former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
