Singer R. Kelly was rushed to a hospital last week after overdosing on medication while in solitary confinement at a North Carolina prison.
Kelly, 58, is serving 30 years for a 2021 conviction on sex crimes and racketeering.
Prison officials confirmed the singer/songwriter overdosed on medication administered by prison medical staff.
Kelly’s attorneys previously asked President Donald Trump for a pardon because his life is in danger. He was placed in solitary confinement for his safety on June 10.
A prison doctor prescribed anti-anxiety medication for Kelly’s nervous condition. On June 13, the prison medical staff instructed him to take more medications.
Soon after, Kelly reported feeling faint, dizzy, and seeing black spots in his vision. He lost consciousness and was rushed to Duke University Hospital.
According to The Independent, the interaction between Kelly and the prison staff was captured on surveillance camera.
Kelly’s lawyer said, “They gave him an amount of medicine that could have killed him.”
During his two-day stay at Duke University hospital, doctors found blood clots in his legs that required surgery. But prison officials rejected the surgery.
Kelly was discharged from Duke hospital and transported to the prison infirmary.
Kelly’s attorneys filed an emergency request for release to home confinement since Kelly is not a danger to the public. But prison staff placed him in solitary confinement.
During his move to solitary confinement, Kelly reportedly overheard a prison staffer say: “This is going to open a new can of worms.”
A judge who received Kelly’s emergency motion considered releasing him on humanitarian grounds. But federal prosecutors said the North Carolina state judge does not have the power to make that decision.
Kelly’s lawyers are awaiting a response from the White House. President Trump’s Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson (left) is on the case. She is reportedly a fan of R. Kelly’s music.
Johnson previously served 21 years of a life sentence for cocaine trafficking. Trump commuted her sentence in 2018 after Kim Kardashian (right) advocated for Johnson’s release.
