R. Kelly’s lawyer claims prison staff tried to ‘kill him’ after rapper was rushed to hospital for overdose

Fraser Williams
The Nightly
A court has rejected R Kelly's claims that prosecutors failed to prove he led a racketeering scheme. (AP PHOTO)
A court has rejected R Kelly's claims that prosecutors failed to prove he led a racketeering scheme. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was rushed to hospital after overdosing on medication in prison, with his lawyer claiming staff were trying to “kill him”.

The disgraced rapper suffered an overdose and passed out after being administered medication by staff at Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina, according to his attorney in a court filing.

The 58-year-old - whose real name is Robert Kelly - is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted on multiple federal charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking.

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The rapper’s attorney said in the filing that Kelly had been put into solitary confinement on June 10 with his anxiety medication, and then was directed to take more on the same day - federal prosecutors have denied this.

According to the filing, the former superstar reported that he was feeling ‘faint’ and ‘dizzy’, before he ‘started to see black spots in his vision’ before he passed out and was taken to hospital.

The singer of hit song ‘Ignition’ spent the next two days in hospital, as his attorney alleged that the prison staff ‘gave him an amount of medicine that could of killed him’.

This episode comes following a recent appeal from Kelly to Donald Trump asking to be pardoned from his sentence - due to fears that officials from the Bureau of Prisons were plotting to murder him.

Kelly’s lawyer claimed that the once rapper has been treated poorly by the prison staff and was not given the required treatment for blood clots.

While in hospital, the doctors reportedly found blood clots in his leg that will need surgery - although he was denied surgery and released from the hospital after several days.

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