R&B singer R. Kelly’s legal team has filed an urgent motion in federal court, claiming the singer’s life is in imminent danger while in federal custody.
His attorney, Beau Brindley, is seeking Kelly’s removal from prison to home detention, alleging that officials from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) orchestrated a plot to have Kelly killed by a fellow inmate.
According to court documents filed on Tuesday, June 10, and obtained by PEOPLE, an inmate named Mikeal Glenn Stine—a self-identified former commissioner of the Aryan Brotherhood—claims three high-ranking BOP officials approached him to assassinate Kelly at FCI Butner in North Carolina, where the singer is currently serving his 30-year sentence.
In a sworn declaration, Stine alleged that these officials promised him an escape opportunity and freedom in exchange for carrying out the murder, claiming his terminal cancer diagnosis made the offer especially tempting.
He further alleged that after being transferred from Arizona to North Carolina, he was placed in the same unit as Kelly and told, “You need to do what you came here for.”
However, Stine claims he had a change of heart after weeks of observing Kelly and instead chose to warn him of the supposed plot.
He also offered to undergo a polygraph test to prove the truthfulness of his claims and is reportedly willing to disclose information on other violent acts he carried out on behalf of the Aryan Brotherhood.
Brindley argued in the motion that, whether or not Stine’s past legal troubles and criminal history cast doubt on his credibility, the threat to Kelly’s life is serious enough to warrant “drastic relief” to ensure his safety.
“Mr. Kelly’s continued incarceration while he knows his life is in jeopardy constitutes cruel and unusual punishment,” the attorney wrote.
Brindley also told PEOPLE that Kelly’s fears are valid, especially considering past attacks while in federal custody and a lack of trust in prison officials to protect him.
“He is not safe in federal custody,” Brindley insisted. “And to keep him in prison while he is under threat like this is cruel and unusual punishment.”
Kelly is currently serving a 30-year sentence after being convicted in New York for racketeering and charges related to child exploitation, forced labor, and Mann Act violations involving the coercion of women and minors across state lines.
