R. Kelly, a singer, has been taken off suicide watch following a confrontation with American federal officials.
After being found guilty of sex crimes, the musician filed a lawsuit against the prison where he was housed. He claimed that being placed on suicide watch at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center was “cruel and unusual punishment,” which went against his 8th Amendment rights.
He told prison officials that he didn’t even have the slightest intention of killing himself. Kelly asserted that his fame caused him to be put in such difficult circumstances.
Federal authorities initially filed a motion opposing the suit, saying they would clinically assess Kelly for the duration of his suicide watch.
However today July 5, Metropolitan Detention Center Warden Heriberto H. Tellez who was named as one of the defendants in the lawsuit, told TMZ that he has taken a decision to remove Kelly from suicide watch following a “clinical assessment.” No further details on the assessment were provided.
Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison last Wednesday following his conviction last year on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Kelly to more than 25 years behind bars, while his defense attorneys asked for up to 10 years.
