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Artist News Legal
R Kelly requests to be allowed out of solitary confinement, prosecutors say he’s not in solitary confinement
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 2 September 2019
R Kelly’s attorney has asked the judge overseeing his case in Chicago to order that his client be taken out of solitary confinement. Prosecutors have countered by pointing out he’s sharing a cell with someone else.
Since being arrested in July and refused bail, Kelly has been held away from the general prison population mainly for his own safety – due to both his celebrity status and the fact he has been accused of sexual crimes against children.
However, says his attorney Steve Greenberg, the rules of the unit where he is being kept mean Kelly has “no meaningful interaction with other humans” and he is also barred from watching TV or going outside. Greenberg adds that the room where Kelly is allowed to meet with his legal team in the unit is also inadequate.
However, in response to Greenberg’s motion, prosecution attorney Angel Krull denied that Kelly is in fact being held in solitary confinement at all. She said the he has actually had several cellmates during his time in prison, even though he initially refused to take one. Adding that Kelly has “displayed a poor attitude”, she claimed that he “appears to want special treatment because of his celebrity status”.
Greenberg countered that the cellmate Kelly was initially told to share his cell with was taken out of the general prison population for being found with a makeshift knife. “I think it’s an oxymoron to say, ‘we’re holding someone in solitary for their protection’ and then give them a dangerous roommate”, he said.
The judge is yet to make a ruling on this, although Kelly’s team is apparently hopeful that a move into the general prison population will be granted. At a status hearing later this week, Greenberg is also expected to again request that Kelly be granted bail and be allowed to leave prison entirely while awaiting trial on an assortment of sexual abuse charges.
