U.S. District Judge Martha Pacold has rejected R. Kelly’s emergency motion for home detention, citing a lack of jurisdiction in the matter.
The decision comes after the disgraced R&B singer’s legal team claimed he faced threats to his life while incarcerated at FCI Butner in North Carolina.
According to court documents reported by CBS News, Judge Pacold emphasized that because Kelly has already been convicted and sentenced, her authority is now limited to appeals concerning his conviction or sentence, not his place of confinement.
“Kelly is currently housed at FCI Butner, which is located in Butner, North Carolina — outside this judicial district. Kelly has not demonstrated a legal basis for this court’s jurisdiction. Accordingly, his emergency motion… is denied,” the judge wrote.
The ruling also cancelled a previously scheduled hearing set for Friday, June 20.
Online reactions have been mixed. While some social media users argued for Kelly’s continued incarceration due to his past crimes, others bizarrely called for his release. Comments on Instagram included:
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“Why would they send you to the home where you did the crimes?” — @queenweba
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“People saying free that man needs to be studied.” — @kortne_greene
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“Bro he did the stuff at home.. home wouldn’t be the place to send folks.” — @fyamanhof
R. Kelly’s attorney, Beau Brindley, told USA Today that the defense team plans to file a motion to vacate Kelly’s conviction in Chicago, citing “newly discovered evidence” that could warrant his release on bond while the motion is considered.
“We are not surprised by this ruling as we knew technical jurisdiction would be a challenge… However, we had no choice but to act immediately given explicit evidence of a threat to Robert Kelly’s life,” Brindley said.
As of now, the defense has not filed the new motion.
