R. Kelly put on suicide watch after conviction

R. Kelly was on suicide watch after being convicted of extortion.

In the first trial since a federal jury in Brooklyn found the R&B singer guilty, Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, said the U.S. Prison Bureau had put his client on suicide watch, but this has since been overturned.

According to Chicago grandstand, monitoring a recently convicted inmate is common practice in the federal prison system. Greenberg did not say whether Kelly had actually expressed a wish to harm himself.

Kelly appeared on video from a Brooklyn federal prison during the hearing, but did not speak as no one could figure out how to unmute it.

Last month, the 54-year-old was convicted by a federal jury in New York on all nine counts, including extortion, sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation. If convicted on May 4th, he faces between 10 years and life imprisonment.

After the guilty verdict, he shared a message with his followers on Facebook saying he was disappointed and protested his innocence.

“To all of my fans and supporters, I love you all and thank you for all the support,” he wrote in the statement. “Today’s verdict was disappointing and I will continue to prove my innocence and fight for my freedom. #not guilty.”

Kelly is still being charged with child pornography and disability in Chicago. The jury trial is scheduled to begin on August 1, 2022 and is expected to last three to four weeks.