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R. Kelly has formally asked President Donald Trump to commute his 30-year prison sentence.
According to a report the Chicago Tribune published on Tuesday, July 14, the Office of the Pardon Attorney made Kelly's request public this week. The agency of the Department of Justice that oversees all filings for executive clemency for the White House is currently reviewing the imprisoned singer's request. The pending request was submitted over a year after Kelly's new attorney, Beau Brindley, publicly asked the POTUS to grant his client clemency during a news conference outside the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.
“R. Kelly does not have the time, with his life in danger, to go through the normal channels,” Brindley said at the time. “I will ask President Trump to help us, because we need him.”
R. Kelly is behind bars serving his 30-year sentence after he was found guilty of sex crimes in 2021. The Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter was convicted of various charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking, after he sexually assaulted multiple young women and girls throughout his musical career. He tried to appeal his convictions; however, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled to uphold the convictions last year.
Kelly previously claimed to be the target of a murder-for-hire plot. He was rushed to the hospital last summer after he reportedly overdosed on medication that prison staff allegedly gave him. Kelly was allegedly forced to take the additional meds on the night of June 12. The following day, the singer collapsed after he felt dizzy and experienced vision loss. He also claimed that prison staff took him off a prescribed blood thinner and won't allow him to get a surgery his doctor recommended, which would clear potentially deadly blood clots in his legs and lungs.
In a court filing, Brindley alleged Kelly overheard a prison officer talking about the alleged murder-for-hire plot. "This is going to open a whole new can of worms," the prison officer allegedly said. The singer and his legal team truly believe his life is at risk.
Prosecutors immediately responded to Kelly's filing and criticized his attempt to portray himself as a victim. They also argued that Kelly submitted their filing to a court that has no jurisdiction over his case. "This is the behavior of an abuser and a master manipulator on display," the prosecutor said at the time.