Following his thirty years’ prison sentencing, embattled singer/songwriter R. Kelly’s legal team have revealed that he has been placed on suicide watch, even though he is not suicidal.
One of R. Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said,
“The irony of putting someone on suicide watch when they’re not suicidal is it actually causes more harm. It’s punishment for being high-profile.
“And it’s horrifying frankly. To put someone under suicide watch under those conditions is cruel and unusual when they don’t need it.”
She continued, “Mr. Kelly was placed on suicide watch for purely punitive reasons in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights.”
According to sources, inmates who are placed on suicide watch are typically confined to a single bare-bones cell that is frequently monitored by prison staff.
These inmates are usually given tear-free smocks and tear-free sheets, and are prohibited from taking showers, shaving, or eating their meals with utensils.
If you would recall, R. Kelly was sentenced to thirty years in prison on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
The Judge also revealed conditions of if/when he is released, ordering that the singer must take mental health treatment which includes therapy for an unspecified sexual disorder.
He was also ordered to stay away from anyone that is under the age of eighteen, which includes informing anyone choosing to live with him that he is a sex offender.
The only time he will be allowed to be around someone who is under the age of eighteen is if it’s a family member, and or if he is in a therapeutic setting, which will require a responsible adult to be present.
All of those terms will of course have to be approved by his probation officer, as he will be under supervised release for a total of five years once his sentence is completed.
Just so you know, R. Kelly still has another federal trial and two state trials, and if he is convicted again, he will likely face even more restrictions.
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