R. Kelly Now Claims He Can’t Mount Defense From Jail; Pleads To Be Bailed

Source: Chicago Tribune / Getty

R. Kelly is throwing everything he can at his bid to get out of jail while he awaits trial on a litany of sex abuse charges.

Kelly has already pleaded with the judge to let him out because he says his Chicago jail is a filthy breeding ground for COVID-19. However, the feds said that the jail has taken special measures to protect detainees – including barring visitors – to stem any possible facility-wide infection.

Now, R. Kelly’s lawyers just filed more court papers yesterday claiming there was no way he could mount his defense for his anticipated July 2020 trial because he could no longer visit with his lawyers privately. He said he simply cannot work with his legal team over the recorded phone lines, and his lawyers are worried about their own health if they were to come to jail.

Kelly said there were just two telephones on his floor for some 500 inmates, and he can’t always carve out phone time with his lawyers with so many other detainees needing it too, according to court papers obtained by BOSSIP.

The disgraced singer wants the judge to let him out on bail and pledges to live a law-abiding life with his gal pal Joycelyn Savage in a modest loft apartment. Kelly said he’ll gladly use an ankle monitor at all times and will stay in the apartment because Illinois already has a statewide lockdown in place.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is real,” Kelly’s lawyers wrote. “Jails are especially susceptible. Mr. Kelly is among the most vulnerable. He asks the court to grant the request for bond given the current circumstances so he can prepare for trial with his counsel.”

The judge hasn’t yet ruled on Kelly’s motion.