Many pop-culture observers may find it highly ironic that convicted sexual predator R. Kelly is suing his jailers for “cruel and unusual punishment” after he was convicted on multiple counts of cruel and usual treatment associated with kidnapping and sexual misconduct on a number of female victims.
Kelly had his attorney file a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn for what his lawyers describe as conditions that can lead to “serious mental harm.”
Attorney Jennifer Bonjean said the already confining conditions that Robert Sylvester Kelly, 55, is forced to live in have been intensified after it was falsely reported that he was being suicidal.
Bonjean said placing an inmate on suicide watch “can and does cause serious mental harm” and is in violation of his 8th Amendment rights.
“MDC has a policy of placing high-profile individuals under the harsh conditions of suicide watch whether they are suicidal or not (this was done recently with Ghislaine Maxwell),” Bonjean said in a statement obtained by People magazine.
“Inmates are stripped of their clothing and underwear and dressed in a smock made of material that is akin to the material that moving companies use when wrapping furniture,” Bonjean wrote in the complaint. “They cannot shower or shave, and are sometimes not even afforded toilet paper. Meals are not provided with utensils, forcing inmates to eat with their hands. They have no ability to consult with loved ones or supportive figures.”
Moreover, Bonjean wrote that such inmates are “typically placed in a single cell without bed rails and offered no items of comfort” while corrections officers monitor the inmate around the clock.
Neither the Brooklyn jail nor the Federal Bureau of Prisons would discuss the Kelly case specifically.
“For safety and security reasons the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not provide information about conditions of confinement or internal security practices for any particular inmate,” reads a statement obtained by People. “The BOP is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates in our population, our staff, and the public. Humane treatment of the men and women in our custody is a top priority. The BOP does not comment on pending litigation or matters that are the subject of legal proceedings.”
