Singer R Kelly just won a mini-legal battle against the feds, who just did an about-face and took the disgraced singer off suicide after he filed a lawsuit against the prison, TMZ reports.
According to the report, in newly filed court documents obtained by TMZ, Metropolitan Detention Center Warden Heriberto H. Tellez who was also named in the suit, says he made the decision today to remove singer R Kelly from suicide watch following a “clinical assessment.” No further details on the assessment were provided.
Last week, the singer R Kelly filed his lawsuit claiming that he was being subjected to “cruel and unusual punishment” which violates his 8th Amendment rights, after he was put on suicide watch at Brooklyn’s MDC.
In the suit, Kelly alleged that he wasn’t even thinking of killing himself and told prison officials just that. Kelly also claimed he was placed in these harsh conditions because of his celebrity.
The feds initially filed a motion opposing the suit, saying they would clinically assess Kelly for the duration of his suicide watch.
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 defence attorneys asked for up to 10 years.
The crooner is still facing another federal case out of Illinois, as well as a state trial in Minnesota in connection with child sex related crimes.