Judge denies defense motion to move R. Kelly to home detention

A federal judge has denied a defense motion to release R. Kelly to home confinement after what lawyers called an assassination attempt against the disgraced musician.

A federal judge has denied a defense motion to release R. Kelly to home confinement after what lawyers called an assassination attempt against the disgraced musician.

Defense lawyers recently said Kelly was hospitalized for an overdose of medication administered by prison officials and alleged that prison officials directed another inmate to kill him in exchange for the inmate's freedom.

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is serving a 30-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina, after his 2021 New York conviction of racketeering and sex trafficking.

U.S. District Judge Martha Pacold denied Kelly's motion Thursday, ruling that she "lacks jurisdiction over this matter."

Kelly's attorney, Beau Brindley, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.