R. Kelly Denied Immediate Release Despite Jail Incident -- Full Details
R. Kelly still cannot win a nod from the federal judge after his request for release got denied again.
Earlier this week, CNN reported that R. Kelly's legal team found out that another inmate beat their client inside his cell.
A copy of the surveillance footage at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago showed how Jeremiah Farmer attacked R. Kelly. The assailant has since admitted that he did it to get media spotlight.
This incident pushed R. Kelly's camp to file a request for release. It is the seventh document they submitted to get him out since he entered federal custody in July 2019.
However, the federal judge disapproved their appeal.
"While this incident is concerning, it does not warrant immediate release," U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber said in his ruling. "This single isolated incident does not suggest that the Bureau of Prisons is incapable of safely housing Mr. Kelly."
It is worth noting that his lawyers also firmly said that no one inside the facility "raised a finger" to help R. Kelly.
In return, the Federal Bureau of Prisons claimed in their report that a prison employee actually stopped the attacker immediately with a pepper spray.
The event alarmed R. Kelly's camp since the singer is still waiting for his trials in Illinois and New York for sex trafficking and child pornography charges.
Furthermore, Leinenweber reasoned out that he would have more chances to manipulate witnesses and evidence since he has enough money to jet to Chicago.
Previously, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals also shared the same sentiment. They explained that the prosecutors saw a "clear and convincing evidence" that the singer still presents a potential danger to the community.
R. Kelly Rejected Twice!
Earlier this week, Michael Leonard, a lawyer for R. Kelly, demanded a hearing after the August beating.
"An unresolved issue remains as to whether MCC personnel encouraged, and then allowed, a beating of Mr. Kelly to take place. That alone merits an evidentiary hearing."
He further said that Farmer roamed around the facility first before attacking the singer. This allegedly left R. Kelly physically and psychologically unstable.
However, aside from making him stay in the correctional facility for more months, the federal judge also denied his lawyers' request for a hearing with the assailant.
The federal judge proclaimed that if the camp "wishes to challenge the conditions of his confinement or the MCC's ability to protect him," R. Kelly shall bring a civil suit before Leinenweber can allow them to question Farmer.
The assailant has since clarified that the intention behind the attack was to get the attention of the media. He also claimed that he wanted the world to notice what the government is currently doing.
Moreover, the attacker was angered by R. Kelly's celebrity status for the continuous lockdowns at the jail.
Farmer was only convicted in 2019, years after the slayings of Marion Lowry and Harvey Siegers on June 25, 1999.
As of writing, Farmer is facing a life sentence for the crime. The authorities also transferred him to a facility in Michigan after the incident.
