R. Kelly sues Brooklyn jail for putting him on suicide watch
R. Kelly on Friday sued the Brooklyn jail that has housed him since his racketeering
and sex crimes conviction, saying it wrongly put him on suicide watch after he
received a 30-year prison sentence despite knowing he was not suicidal.
In a complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court, the 55-year-old multiplatinum R&B
singer said officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center ordered the watch after
his June 29 sentencing "solely for punitive purposes" and because he was a "high-profile" inmate.
Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean quoted a prosecutor as saying the jail's legal
counsel had told her that "per the psychology department, [Kelly] is on a psych
alert for various reasons, such as age, crime, publicity and sentencing." No timetable was provided.