Latest news with #Butner
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
R. Kelly claims prison officials plotted to kill him. Judge denies his release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A judge has denied singer R. Kelly 's request to be freed from prison, saying she lacks jurisdiction to consider the convicted sex offender's allegations that federal prison officials plotted to murder him. U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold canceled Friday's scheduled arguments in Chicago, and instead issued a five-page ruling denying his emergency request to serve his time on home detention during a temporary furlough. Born Robert Sylvester Kelly, the 58-year-old Grammy-winning R&B singer is serving sentences at a prison in Butner, North Carolina, for child sex crimes and racketeering. Pacold noted that federal courts have only limited power in such cases, and one by one she examined and rejected various ways Kelly's request could be considered. 'Jurisdictional limitations must be respected even where, as here, a litigant claims that the circumstances are extraordinary,' Pacold wrote. 'Kelly has not identified (nor is the court aware of) any statute or rule that authorizes the court to exercise jurisdiction. Thus, the court cannot award relief in this case.' Kelly claimed in a series of filings this month that prison officials solicited white supremacist leaders to kill him, to halt the disclosure of information damaging to prison officials. Kelly's attorney says he was then moved to solitary confinement and purposely given an overdose of medication, which required hospitalization and surgery for blood clots. Pacold noted that Kelly offers no evidence to back up his claims. Government lawyers suggested Kelly had spun a 'fanciful conspiracy.' Known for such hits as 'I Believe I Can Fly,' Kelly was found guilty in Chicago in 2022 of three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex. In New York in 2021, he was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. He is serving most of his 20-year Chicago sentence and 30-year New York sentence simultaneously. His appeals have been unsuccessful, including to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kelly has also sought President Donald Trump's help.
Sky News
5 days ago
- Sky News
R Kelly rushed to hospital after prison 'overdose' plot, his lawyers say
R Kelly was hospitalised after prison officials gave him an overdose of medication, his lawyers have claimed – as part of what they say is an ongoing assassination plot. Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is currently serving time at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina, after being convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering in 2021. A year later, he was found guilty on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex. The 58-year-old was taken to hospital on Friday after prison staff "administered an overdose of his medication", according to a court document filed by his lawyer. The document, filed on Tuesday, reads: "Mr. Kelly's life is in danger, and that danger is coming from Bureau of Prisons officials and their actions. "Mr. Kelly needs this Court's intervention. His life actually depends on it." Nicole Blank Becker, one of Kelly's lawyers, said he is in solitary confinement and that she spoke with him on Monday. "What is happening right now with him is insane," she said. "I hope that this really results in someone, somewhere, somehow getting ahold of him today and getting him back in the hospital." A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that "for privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including medical and health-related issues". "Additionally, the Bureau of Prisons does not comment on pending litigation or matters that are the subject of legal proceedings," they added. The allegation is the latest in a line of similar claims from the singer's legal team, who last week filed a motion accusing the Bureau of Prisons of instructing another inmate to kill Kelly. A motion filed by Kelly's legal team claimed Mikeal Glenn Stine, who is alleged to be a member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang and has a terminal cancer diagnosis, was given a chance to "to live out the last of those months as a free man" in exchange for killing the singer. The next day, his legal team filed additional material saying he had been moved to solitary confinement and denied access to his lawyer. Prosecutors rejected the claims as "repugnant". Their written response said: "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."
CNN
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
R. Kelly hospitalized last week after drugging by prison staff, his attorneys claim
R. Kelly was recently taken to the hospital after allegedly being given too much medication by prison staff while in solitary confinement, according to a filing from the disgraced R&B singer's legal team. The 58-year-old, born Robert Kelly, is currently serving two federal sentences, one for sex trafficking and racketeering and another for child pornography, at Butner Correctional Facility in North Carolina. His current release date is listed as December 21, 2045, according to the Bureau of Prison's website. In court documents obtained by CNN, Kelly's legal team is again seeking an emergency release from prison, claiming that the 'Federal Bureau of Prisons is taking active steps to kill' him – an accusation the government calls 'fanciful.' The filing from Kelly's team alleges that he was placed in solitary confinement on June 10, hours after submitting a different emergency release request filing that separately alleged Bureau of Prisons officials had plotted to have another inmate kill Kelly. It goes on to state that Kelly took his regular dose of medication on June 12 but they claim was later instructed by prison staff to take additional medication. The filing then claims that Kelly awoke on July 13 feeling 'faint' and 'dizzy,' seeing 'black spots in his vision' before falling to the ground and losing consciousness. Kelly was taken by ambulance to Duke University Hospital, where the filing says he 'learned that he had been administered an overdose quantity of his medications that threatened his life.' Kelly was hospitalized for two days. The filing then claims that prison officials forced the singer to leave the hospital and return to prison 'against his will and against the directives of the doctors' before completing additional medical treatment for ongoing blood clot issues. In a response, federal prosecutors accused Kelly of asking for release 'under the guise of a fanciful conspiracy.' They added that the 'the deeply unserious and theatrical' motion, which they say was improperly filed, 'makes a mockery of the harm suffered by Kelly's victims.' 'This Court should not allow Kelly to turn its docket into a grocery store checkout aisle tabloid,' the government's response said. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told CNN that due to 'privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including medical and health-related issues.' They added that the BOP does not comment on pending litigation or matters subject to legal proceedings. In 2023, Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Chicago federal courtroom following his conviction last year on charges of child pornography and enticement of a minor. At the time, Kelly was already serving a 30-year prison term for his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in a New York federal court. Most of his sentences are being served concurrently. Kelly was one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1990s and 2000s, known for hit songs 'Bump N' Grind,' 'Ignition (Remix)' and 'I Believe I Can Fly,' which won him three Grammy Awards. He has been nominated for 26 Grammys, including as recently as 2015. CNN's Eric Levenson and Bill Kirkos contributed to this report.
CNN
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
R. Kelly hospitalized last week after drugging by prison staff, his attorneys claim
R. Kelly was recently taken to the hospital after allegedly being given too much medication by prison staff while in solitary confinement, according to a filing from the disgraced R&B singer's legal team. The 58-year-old, born Robert Kelly, is currently serving two federal sentences, one for sex trafficking and racketeering and another for child pornography, at Butner Correctional Facility in North Carolina. His current release date is listed as December 21, 2045, according to the Bureau of Prison's website. In court documents obtained by CNN, Kelly's legal team is again seeking an emergency release from prison, claiming that the 'Federal Bureau of Prisons is taking active steps to kill' him – an accusation the government calls 'fanciful.' The filing from Kelly's team alleges that he was placed in solitary confinement on June 10, hours after submitting a different emergency release request filing that separately alleged Bureau of Prisons officials had plotted to have another inmate kill Kelly. It goes on to state that Kelly took his regular dose of medication on June 12 but they claim was later instructed by prison staff to take additional medication. The filing then claims that Kelly awoke on July 13 feeling 'faint' and 'dizzy,' seeing 'black spots in his vision' before falling to the ground and losing consciousness. Kelly was taken by ambulance to Duke University Hospital, where the filing says he 'learned that he had been administered an overdose quantity of his medications that threatened his life.' Kelly was hospitalized for two days. The filing then claims that prison officials forced the singer to leave the hospital and return to prison 'against his will and against the directives of the doctors' before completing additional medical treatment for ongoing blood clot issues. In a response, federal prosecutors accused Kelly of asking for release 'under the guise of a fanciful conspiracy.' They added that the 'the deeply unserious and theatrical' motion, which they say was improperly filed, 'makes a mockery of the harm suffered by Kelly's victims.' 'This Court should not allow Kelly to turn its docket into a grocery store checkout aisle tabloid,' the government's response said. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told CNN that due to 'privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including medical and health-related issues.' They added that the BOP does not comment on pending litigation or matters subject to legal proceedings. In 2023, Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Chicago federal courtroom following his conviction last year on charges of child pornography and enticement of a minor. At the time, Kelly was already serving a 30-year prison term for his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in a New York federal court. Most of his sentences are being served concurrently. Kelly was one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1990s and 2000s, known for hit songs 'Bump N' Grind,' 'Ignition (Remix)' and 'I Believe I Can Fly,' which won him three Grammy Awards. He has been nominated for 26 Grammys, including as recently as 2015. CNN's Eric Levenson and Bill Kirkos contributed to this report.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Singer R. Kelly alleges mistreatment after hospitalization and prison 'murder plot'
CHICAGO (AP) — R. Kelly collapsed in prison and was hospitalized, attorneys said in court filings this week, adding the details to the singer's extraordinary allegations of a murder plot by prison officials that he argues require temporary release on home detention. Government lawyers have dismissed the claims as a 'fanciful conspiracy." Kelly, 58, is serving time at a Butner, North Carolina federal facility related to separate convictions for child sex crimes and racketeering. In a series of filings that started last week, Kelly's attorneys claim prison officials sought out leaders of a white supremacist gang to kill him and prevent the release of damaging information on prison officials. After that filing, Kelly was moved to solitary confinement, his attorneys say. They also allege he was purposely given a medication overdose and required hospitalization and surgery for blood clots, but he was sent back to solitary. '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,' Kelly's attorney Beau B. Brindley wrote in a filing Tuesday. 'And they did it within days of his exposure of a plan to kill him set forth by Bureau of Prisons officials.' Attorneys cite a declaration from a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood as among their evidence. Government attorneys rejected the allegations as 'repugnant' and questioned whether a Chicago judge has jurisdiction to alter Kelly's sentence for separate convictions in Illinois and New York. Kelly has a Friday hearing at Chicago's federal court. 'Kelly has never taken responsibility for his years of sexually abusing children, and he probably never will,' government attorneys wrote. 'Undeterred, Kelly now asks this Court to release him from incarceration indefinitely under the guise of a fanciful conspiracy.' The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment Tuesday, saying it does not discuss conditions of confinement or comment on pending legal matters. The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, was found guilty in Chicago in 2022 of three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex. In 2021, he was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking in New York. His attempts to appeal have been unsuccessful, including to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kelly has also sought President Donald Trump's help. He is serving most of his 20-year Chicago sentence and 30-year New York sentence simultaneously. Kelly is known for work including the 1996 hit 'I Believe I Can Fly' and the cult classic 'Trapped in the Closet,' a multipart tale of sexual betrayal and intrigue. Kelly sold millions of albums and remained in demand even after allegations about his abuse of young girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s. A 2008 trial in Chicago on child sexual abuse image charges ended in acquittal. Widespread outrage over Kelly's sexual misconduct did not emerge until the #MeToo reckoning, reaching a crescendo after the release of the documentary 'Surviving R. Kelly.'
