Why Was R. Kelly’s $1.8 Million Plea To Be Released From Jail Amid COVID-19 DENIED AGAIN?
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We already know Twitter doesn’t want R. Kelly back on the streets and looks like the justice system feels the same way. For a second time in a row in less than 1 month, R. Kelly has failed at convincing a judge to release him from federal custody amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
R. Kelly Is A Flight Risk and Has Been Rejected For Release
Initially, Kelly’s first plea to be released early was immediately shot down. At the time there were no cases of COVID-19 at the Chicago correctional facility he is housed in. He cited his age and his health as two main causes of concern as to why he could be at risk of contracting the virus. Now, there are six confirmed inmates infected with COVID-19 in the correctional facility as well as seven staff members. In his emergency release memo, it says the singer is under “tremendous stress and anxiety” because of virus concerns.
His charges include racketeering, transportation to engage in illegal sexual activity, and coercion of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, and several others.
Currently, he is awaiting trial in Illinois for separate sexual abuse allegations and is currently being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. His pleas to be released were denied with the judge saying “the risks associated with the defendant’s release have not changed,” U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly wrote in her decision per USA Today. Donnelly added, “continued to downplay the risk that he might flee, citing his attendance record in connection with the 2002 state criminal charges against him.”
R. Kelly Is A Threat To The Community
Kelly’s attorney filed an emergency motion for release’s arguing that Kelly is in danger of catching COVID-19. At least 6 MCC inmates have tested positive for the deadly disease, including 1 inmate housed on the same floor as Kelly.
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U.S. District Judge has also stated that Kelly “poses a danger to the community,” because he might “obstruct justice or intimidate prospective witnesses” in his sex crimes case.
One of Kelly’s lawyers also reports that Kelly’s claims of not being a flight risk fail to provide “credible evidence.”
Nonetheless, Kelly remains locked up at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center until further notice.
