TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - R&B singer R. Kelly was rushed to the hospital after an alleged overdose on medication administered by a prison staff member. In court documents filed on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, Kelly's lawyer referred to this incident as part of an assassination attempt on Kelly, who is currently serving time at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina.
According to NBC News, Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was taken to Duke University Hospital in Durham on Friday, June 14, 2025. The documents stated that Kelly fell to the floor after feeling dizzy and seeing black spots in his vision.
Following an examination, doctors determined that Kelly had received an excessive dose of a life-threatening drug. The documents also mentioned that doctors found blood clots in his legs and lungs. Despite the hospital's recommendation for seven days of medical treatment and an operation, Kelly was transferred back to prison and placed in isolation.
Kelly's attorney, Beau Brindley, claimed that Kelly's life was endangered by the actions of the US Bureau of Prisons (BOP). "Mr. Kelly’s life is in danger, and that danger is coming from Bureau of Prisons officials and their actions," the court documents stated. He argued that R. Kelly urgently needed court intervention because his life was at stake.
These allegations surfaced amidst several legal documents filed by Kelly's defense team in the past week. In a previous submission on June 11, Brindley accused BOP officials at the federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, of offering inmate Mikeal Glenn Stine the opportunity to kill Kelly. Stine, who is allegedly a member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang and suffering from terminal cancer, was promised freedom if he successfully carried out the murder.
However, according to Kelly's attorney, Stine actually warned Kelly that his life was in danger. A day after this submission, Brindley submitted additional documents stating that Kelly had been moved to solitary confinement and denied access to communication with his attorney.
"And what’s the reason? Because he was the victim of a murder threat," the document read. He also stated that it made no sense for Kelly to be placed in the same solitary confinement as violent felons, which only fueled his fear.
Thus far, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons has stated, "For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including medical and health-related issues." They also refused to comment on the ongoing legal process.
Amidst these safety concerns, Brindley also mentioned that he was working on filing a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. "President Trump has been fighting against this kind of criminal weaponization of the DOJ against public figures since he took office," Brindley said, as quoted from USA Today.
However, federal prosecutors responded firmly to the request. In a 69-page document filed on Monday, June 16, 2025, they dismissed Kelly's request to move to house arrest as insincere and theatrical, as well as insulting to the previously imposed sentence for "deeply disturbing offenses."
While R. Kelly's legal team continues to submit additional requests, the fate of the 58-year-old R&B star now rests in the hands of the federal court.
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