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Should R Kelly be released from jail after being attacked by an inmate? Internet says 'he isn't safe' in there

As per Kelly's attorney, the Bureau of Prisons did not protect his client, and the personnel at the facility encouraged the inmate to attack the singer

Singer R Kelly is requesting bail from prison after he was attacked last week by an inmate. An inmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago, claimed he sneaked into the prison cell to attack the singer. Kelly was arrested in 2019 on federal charges alleging sex crimes after he was the subject of numerous allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct with underage girls.

As reported earlier, in a handwritten six-page legal filing to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals titled, "The Government Made Me Attack R Kelly", the attacker -- Jeremiah Shane Farmer -- said he was forced to beat the Grammy-winning singer. The attack occurred at 9.45 am on August 26 and the legal document was filed on September 1.

According to a Billboard report, a motion was filed on Friday, September 4, by Kelly’s attorney Michael I Leonard. The attorney claimed, as per the report, that the Bureau of Prisons did not protect his client, and the personnel at the facility encouraged the inmate to attack the singer.

The report states, as evidence, Leonard presented the judge the handwritten motion mentioned earlier. As per the report, Farmer had informed a mental health professional at the facility of his plan to attack Kelly, the person allegedly told him “go do it.” The report says, Farmer said he was “forced to assault hip-hop R&B singer Robert Kelly #09627-035 in hopes of getting spotlight attention and world news notice to shed light on the government corruption” regarding his own case.

According to a CNN report, this will be the sixth time Kelly's legal team has appealed for his release since he was taken into federal custody last year. Of which four requests, including Friday's appeal, were made during the pandemic. Three of the previous requests were denied. His legal team argues that this makes Kelly vulnerable to developing severe complications from the virus. His attorneys told CNN that they hadn't met their client in six months since prisons went into lockdown. And, since in-person legal visits were stopped, it proved to be detrimental to Kelly, since he cannot read or write, and cannot review his legal documents.

As per CNN, Kelly's trial was scheduled for September but was partially delayed due to the pandemic. Attorney Tom Farinella, who will argue Kelly's bail appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, argued that the only way of communicating with attorneys is through phone calls, but that does not “possess the safeguards of confidentiality” required for important attorney-client privileged conversations. The report further states that even if Friday's appeal is in favor of Kelly, the singer still would need to win the bail appeal on federal charges in Illinois before being released.

But prosecutors are not in favor of releasing Kelly. The report adds that they claim releasing Kelly would be risky since he is allegedly a danger to the community and has a history of interfering with witnesses and jurors. Responding to various allegations, Farinella said in a statement to CNN that the government's reasoning to keep Kelly behind bars until his trial “does little if anything to further its position that the extreme measure of impaneling an anonymous and sequestered jury, which would severally prejudice Mr. Kelly and violate his right to a fair trial guaranteed under the Constitution, should be granted.”

Soon after the news started buzzing on social media, Internet users weighed in their opinions on the matter. One user said, “R Kelly isnt safe in jail.. Release that man.”

Another said, “It is important that celebrities with money and influence are not allowed to escape justice. R. Kelly's attorneys appeal for release, saying he hasn't been able to prepare for trial in nearly six months - CNN.”

Another said, “They won’t release Kellz. They want to destroy him until he’s dead.”

One stated, “R Kelly can't read or write, he can't review legal documents in his case sent to him in prison. With Covid-19 his lawyers can't visit him in prison. Let him out so he can have access to lawyers. Prosecuting an illiterate person without access to his legal team is justice denied.”

Another said, “Throw away the key...do not let him out. He comes out the first thing he will do is strike again. This storm is only starting ...”