R. Kelly has been placed on suicide watch at a federal detention center in New York after he was sentenced this week to 30 years in prison for sexual abuse. But his lawyer says the housing assignment is unfair because the singer is “mentally fine.”
Attorney Jennifer Bonjean announced Friday she’s filed a lawsuit and requested a temporary restraining order to get Kelly off suicide watch at Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, because the Grammy-winning singer is not suicidal.
“This evening we sued the MDC Brooklyn for illegally confining R. Kelly to suicide watch,” she tweeted. Bojean’s post included a copy of a notice saying her complaint was filed electronically at 4:12 PM EDT on Friday.
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In a statement to the New York Post, Bojean insisted Kelly, 55, is being subjected to intense monitoring because he is famous.
“Mr. Kelly was placed on suicide watch for purely punitive reasons in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights. MDC has a policy of placing high profile individuals under the harsh conditions of suicide watch whether they are suicidal or not,” she said.
She compared the federal detention facility to a Soviet-era labor camp.
“MDC Brooklyn is being run like a gulag. My partner and I spoke with Mr. Kelly following his sentencing, he expressed that he was mentally fine and only expressed concern that even though he was not suicidal, MDC would place him on suicide watch,” she added.
Inmates on suicide watch are isolated in a “stripped down” room and denied basic comforts, Bonjean said.
“They are entirely isolated. They are stripped of their clothing and underwear and forced to wear a smock made of material akin to the blankets moving companies use when they wrap up furniture. They are denied utensils for eating. They cannot shower or shave,” she explained. “The only explanation for subjecting someone to these harsh conditions who is not suicidal is punitive.”
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A spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons declined to comment on Kelly’s case, but said the agency is “committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public.”
On Wednesday, June 29, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and eight violations of an anti-sex-trafficking law. He was additionally ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
The sentencing came after the “Bump n’ Grind” singer was found guilty in September 2021 for being the ringleader of a scheme that recruited women and underage girls for sex.
