How long has R Kelly been in prison? Sentence explored as singer accuses prison authorities of hatching murder plot

Robert Sylvester Kelly, popularly known as R Kelly, sought prison release recently, with his attorney alleging a murder plot orchestrated by federal prison officials.

The singer's legal team filed an emergency motion, urging for a temporary release from federal custody and shift to home detention, to serve his ongoing sentence, according to a People report.

R Kelly has been in the federal North Carolina prison serving a 30-year sentence, E! News reported. He was arrested and booked into federal detention in Chicago on July 11, 2019.

R Kelly accuses officials of attempting to murder him

Attorney Beau B. Brindley from the artist's legal team stated in the official filing,

"His life depends on the oversight of literal 'guards' and jailers who are entrusted with his safety. Yet, explicit evidence has now emerged to show that the very officials charged with protecting incarcerated inmates have solicited Mr. Kelly’s murder."

The official filing detailed shocking information, adding,

"When that information began to be exposed by Mr. Kelly’s attorneys, officials in the Bureau of Prisons solicited another inmate to kill him. At least two avowed white supremacists and members of the Aryan Brotherhood have been approached by BOP officers and directed to take Mr. Kelly’s life."

Someone among the prison authorities allegedly alerted R Kelly, stating that his life was in danger. Brindley continued, writing,

"The official then advised Mr. Kelly that he was in danger and that Mr. Kelly needed to be careful. The BOP official intimated that Mr. Kelly was not safe in Bureau of Prisons custody."

The unnamed official warned the Burn It Up singer, saying that he should not visit the mess hall because someone was trying to mix poison into his food,

"at the chow hall and in the commissary as a means of achieving these executions."

Following the revelation, the attorney and the legal team requested home detention.

The People report confirmed that R Kelly's emergency motion was submitted to the federal court on June 10. It claimed that three officials with the Bureau of Prisons hatched the murder plot. The report added that the filing contains a declaration from an inmate named Mikeal Glenn Stine, alleging that he was told to execute the job of hurting and killing the Step in the Name of Love singer.

Mikeal revealed that three high-ranking BOP officials allegedly asked him to murder Kelly when he was at the United States Penitentiary, Tucson, Arizona. The official filing mentioned his statement, too.

He also disclosed his involvement with the Aryan Brotherhood for a long time. Additionally, he claimed in the declaration that he was the commissioner of the Brotherhood. While holding this position, he had the

"power to order beatings, stabbings, and executions that were carried out by other members of the A.B."

He further claimed that a BOP official directed him

"to order assaults, beatings, and killings of inmates," adding that he was the same person who asked Stine to murder R Kelly.

Officials targeting him to complete the task had offered him that they would assist the inmate to run away from federal custody after he killed the singer, he alleged. He could have spent his ending months as a "free man," he claimed.

Later, he was shifted to the Federal Correctional Institute, Butner, in North Carolina. After this major transfer, he was assigned to stay in the same unit as R Kelly.

Mikeal also declared that an official spoke with him after his transfer to the Federal Correctional Institute, Butner, and stated,

"You need to do what you came here for."

Although Stine allegedly agreed to take the offer to kill R Kelly and escape from prison, he changed his decision after some time. He began by observing the singer for weeks. However, he ditched the plan and headed straight to Kelly to let him know that officials had a plan to murder the singer inside the prison.

Mikeal agreed to sit for a polygraph examination to prove his honesty. He added that he would share the identities of those inmates he had physically assaulted and killed previously.

A look at R Kelly's imprisonment

In February 2019, R Kelly surrendered to the Chicago Police over the charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The charges were filed for abusing four alleged victims. He was arrested on 10 counts by Cook County authorities, People reported.

In July 2019, the R&B singer was arrested in Chicago over a 13-count indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as per The New York Times. The New York Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security detained him, according to NBC News.

Soon, the attorney’s office released a statement. ABC News confirmed the details, reporting,

"R Kelly was arrested in Chicago tonight on charges contained in a 13-count indictment returned today in the Northern District of Illinois. The indictment includes charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice."

According to a 2019 People report, R Kelly was held with another five-count indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Charges against him mentioned that he was convicted of racketeering and violating the Mann Act. According to The New York Times, the act

"prohibits transporting people across state lines for the purpose of prostitution."

He was charged with 30 years imprisonment for several reasons, including child racketeering and sex trafficking.

A six-week trial was conducted in 2021 for this hugely publicized case. 45 witnesses were present in the courtroom in Brooklyn to testify. During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes stated that the singer targeted, groomed, and exploited "girls, boys, and women."

According to People, the survivors also testified. Among them was Angela. The New York Times reported that she said to the disgraced artist,

"You used your fame and power to groom and coach underage boys and girls for your own sexual gratification. We are no longer the preyed-upon individuals we once were."

In 2022, one of R Kelly's attorneys, Jennifer Bonjean, gave a statement to People regarding the court placing him on suicide watch. She claimed that the decision targeting the "high-profile inmate" was for "purely punitive reasons." The lawyer further added that the step was against her client's Eighth Amendment rights.

Later, Kelly sued MDC Brooklyn, the detention centre in New York City where he was imprisoned. Dismissing his suicidal thoughts, it was noted that the punishment was "cruel and unusual."

In February 2023, an Illinois federal judge called off the trial and sentenced Kelly with an imprisonment of 20 years, along with 30 years in prison. He was punished on multiple charges, including enticing of minors for sex and child pornography.

Prosecutors said to the judge to imprison him for 25 years because he was a "serial sexual predator." Per NBC News, as cited by People, they also added that he posed "a serious danger to society."

The judge reacted to the demand, clarifying,

"sentencing should be sufficient but not greater than necessary."

Later, the singer's defense lawyers mentioned in court filings that,

"there is no reason to believe he would reoffend as a geriatric in his mid-80s" after serving 30 years in jail, CNN confirmed.

According to AP, as cited by People, one of the victims, Nia, said to Kelly,

"Now you are here… because there is something wrong with you. No longer will you be able to harm children."

People reported in 2024 that his legal team tried urging the United States Supreme Court to overturn his convictions related to child pornography and minor sexual exploitation.