Federal prosecutors defend decision to keep R. Kelly under suicide watch

Federal prosecutors are defending a decision to place disgraced R&B artist R. Kelly

under suicide watch after he was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison on sex trafficking and

racketeering charges, according to court documents filed Saturday.

Kelly, whose legal name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, sued the Metropolitan Detention Center in

Brooklyn, New York, its warden and unnamed employees, along with the United States itself,

for placing him under suicide watch supervision, the documents show.

Kelly, 55, alleges he was "placed on suicide watch as a form of punishment even though he was

not suicidal," according to the federal government's response to his filing.

Attorneys for the prison say Kelly's claims should be dismissed because he "fails to show a substantial