R. Kelly has just won a small court battle against the federal government, which has reversed course and taken the disgraced singer off suicide watch after he filed a case against the prison.
In newly filed court documents obtained by TMZ, Metropolitan Detention Center Warden Heriberto H. Tellez, who is also named in the suit, states that he made the decision to remove Kelly from suicide watch based on a "clinical assessment."
No additional information regarding the assessment is provided.
After being placed on suicide watch at Brooklyn's MDC, Kelly filed a complaint claiming he was being subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of his 8th Amendment rights last week.
Kelly said in his lawsuit that he had informed prison officials that he was not even considering suicide. Kelly also alleged that he was subjected to these terrible conditions due to his fame.
The federal government initially submitted a motion opposing the lawsuit, stating that they would conduct a clinical evaluation of Kelly for the duration of his suicide watch.
Following his conviction on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges a year ago, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors urged the judge to impose a prison term of more than 25 years on Kelly, while his defense team requested a maximum of 10 years.
The singer still faces a federal case in Illinois and a state trial in Minnesota connected to child sex offenses.
Many of the claims dated back to the beginning of his career in the 1990s and focused on his predatory pursuit of teenage girls.
In a New York court in September 2021, he was found guilty on eight charges of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering. He was then given the three decades worth of imprisonment sentence.
The singer, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is facing separate child sex image and obstruction trials in Chicago. Additionally, he faces sexual assault allegations in Illinois and Minnesota.
In his book, Kelly describes how he was raped by a female family member when he was eight years old.
Before his sentencing, defense attorneys and prosecutors fought in court over whether Kelly could even pay a fine. The defense stated he is "very near to being indigent" and unable to pay. Prosecutors disagreed, stating that the proceeds from the sale of some of his music rights and the millions of dollars in royalties retained by Sony could meet the fine.
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