Musician R. Kelly has reportedly requested to be released from prison while he awaits trial after he was attacked by an inmate with a pen.
Kelly’s lawyer Steven Greenberg is arguing the singer should be released because a trial date cannot be set due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to an article published Tuesday by Fox News.
“Only in a Third World nation could somebody be held indefinitely, without the possibility of going to trial,” Greenberg said, according to the outlet. “It is un-American. It is illegal. Nowhere does the law authorize indefinite detention.”
Kelly is awaiting trial on charges of racketeering, sexual misconduct and others in Chicago and Brooklyn.
As previously reported, Kelly was most recently attacked by an inmate who was angry over the detention center being placed on lockdown due to people protesting Kelly outside. (RELATED: REPORT: R. Kelly Attacked By Inmate In His Jail Cell)
The inmate reportedly stomped on R. Kelly’s head multiple times before attempting to stab him: https://t.co/9WFXIqPq0b
— HOT 97 (@HOT97) September 1, 2020
“This is an inmate that never should have been anywhere near Mr. Kelly,” Greenberg continued in the statement, Fox News reported. “An individual who is charged with the most violent of crimes, and one who plainly has no respect for the rules, he has the phrase ‘F*ck The Feds’ tattooed on his face.”
“To-date, there have been at least a half-dozen of these displays of support outside of the MCC, always peaceful,” he reportedly added. “These unnecessary institutional lockdowns have needlessly promoted animosity toward Mr. Kelly. Notably, the institution does not go into lockdown during other violent, downtown protests or during citywide looting.”
Kelly faces federal and state charges connected to criminal sexual abuse. He is currently awaiting trial for creating and possessing child pornography and for sexual exploitation of a minor.
Kelly was hit with new federal charges Feb. 14 stemming from allegations that he sexually abused another minor for four years starting in 1997.