Judge Pacold Says She Ain’t Got The Power To Save R. Kelly — Denies Emergency Motion For Home Detention
A federal judge just shut down R. Kelly’s last-ditch plea to be released from prison and placed on home detention, despite his legal team claiming his life is in danger behind bars. In the latest twist, the judge said plain and simple: this court doesn’t even have the jurisdiction.
Earlier this month, Kelly’s lawyers hit the courts with an emergency motion, asking for him to be let out immediately. They said prison officials and inmates been working together to violate his rights and possibly even plot against him. According to the filing, his former cellmate and staff at the federal facility in Chicago allegedly stole private letters meant for his attorneys and leaked them to prosecutors to sabotage his defense.
They also claimed somebody affiliated with the Aryan Brotherhood was allegedly recruited to harm Kelly at his current prison in Butner, North Carolina—just to keep him from speaking out on the alleged corruption inside.
His Team Pleads For Trump To Intervene, But Judge Shoots It All Down
R. Kelly’s crew even tried to involve Donald Trump, publicly urging the former president to use his influence and “free” the singer before it’s too late. But Judge Martha Pacold wasn’t moved.
The judge was set to review the motion during a scheduled hearing, but instead issued a written ruling a day earlier, shutting it all the way down.
“Kelly is currently housed at FCI Butner, which is located in Butner, North Carolina—outside this judicial district,” Pacold wrote. “Kelly has not demonstrated a legal basis for this court’s jurisdiction. Accordingly, his emergency motion … is denied.”
Translation: this Chicago court ain’t got no say over what’s going down in North Carolina.
Feds Clap Back, Calling His Motion A “Self-Promotion” Stunt
It didn’t take long for prosecutors to fire back hard. In response to the disturbing allegations, they dismissed Kelly’s claims altogether and said he’s weaponizing the legal system for attention.
“Kelly refuses to accept responsibility for years of sexually abusing children and is using this Court’s docket merely to promote himself despite there being no legal basis to be before this Court,” prosecutors wrote.
They didn’t hold back, calling his claims “repugnant to the sentence that this court imposed for deeply disturbing offenses.”
Kelly’s attorneys also alleged that after the motion was filed, prison staff retaliated by giving him an unsafe dose of medication and then pushing him out the hospital against medical advice. They say it’s all part of a setup to keep Kelly quiet.
Recap: Where R. Kelly’s Legal Drama Stands Now
R. Kelly, 58, is currently serving a 30-year sentence. He was convicted in Chicago back in 2022 for child pornography and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he filmed himself abusing three underage girls, including his then-14-year-old goddaughter.
That’s on top of his 2021 conviction in New York, where a jury found him guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. According to prosecutors, he ran a full-blown criminal enterprise that preyed on young women and girls, exploiting them through fame, manipulation, and threats.