R. Kelly Hospitalized After Reported Overdose While in Prison
R. Kelly was rushed to Duke University Hospital after reportedly collapsing in his prison cell, according to new court filings by his legal team.
The 58-year-old singer, who is currently serving a 30-year sentence in a North Carolina prison for racketeering and sex trafficking, allegedly blacked out on June 13. His lawyers say he had been experiencing dizziness, blurred vision, and eventually lost consciousness.
The incident, they claim, was caused by a high dosage of medication given to him while he was in solitary confinement.
Kelly had been placed in isolation just three days earlier, on June 10, after filing an urgent motion expressing fear for his safety. According to the documents, he told prison officials he had received death threats from white supremacist inmates.
His legal team argues that instead of addressing the concerns, prison staff retaliated by isolating him and forcing him to take medication without proper evaluation. They described it as a punitive move masked as medical care.
“He was put in a cell and pumped with drugs,” the lawyers stated. They claim the combination of anxiety medication and other prescriptions, given without adequate monitoring, led to the overdose.
The situation has sparked fresh questions about how inmates are treated in solitary confinement, particularly when it comes to medical oversight and mental health care.
As of now, prison officials have yet to comment publicly on the incident or the allegations raised by Kelly’s legal team.
