R. Kelly was hospitalized last week after overdosing on medications given to him by prison staff, his lawyers claimed.
Kelly, who is serving a 30-year sentence in Butner, North Carolina, for sex trafficking and racketeering, said he overdosed after taking the medication while in solitary confinement. According to USA Today, a court filing stated that Kelly was hospitalized and discharged against medical advice.
The filing also included a sworn statement from an inmate who claimed prison staff offered to release him amid his terminal illness if he killed Kelly, who resides in the same unit. The inmate — a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood — also alleged that the same prison official ordered him to arrange other slayings and assaults, USA Today reported.
Kelly’s attorneys claimed Stine was told that he would be allowed to escape after Kelly’s slaying. Though he would be charged with murder, Stine was told that the evidence would be mismanaged and he would avoid conviction.
According to the court filing, Stine felt remorseful about killing Kelly and told him about the arrangement. Kelly’s attorneys alleged that in June, another member of the Aryan Brotherhood was instructed to kill Stine and Kelly.
“Federal officers have solicited the murder of R. Kelly because he intends to expose the corruption underlying his federal prosecutions,” Kelly’s attorney, Beau B. Brindley, said in a statement to USA Today. “The only thing that can protect Mr. Kelly behind the prison walls now is the fact that now the world is watching.”
Kelly reportedly woke up feeling “dizzy” and “faint” on June 13. A court filing stated that he saw black spots in his vision before he collapsed and could not get up. He crawled to his cell door before losing consciousness, according to court documents.
Kelly was reportedly hospitalized for two days. His attorneys claimed he was discharged from the hospitalized before undergoing surgery for a blood clot issue.
While the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on the allegations, Brindley told USA Today, “We will call on the courts and President Trump to help put an end to the corruption that now threatens Mr. Kelly’s life.”
[Feature Photo: Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool, File]
