Lawyers for R. Kelly say the singer was hospitalized after overdosing on medication administered by prison staff last week. In a June 17 filing obtained by USA TODAY, his legal team claims Kelly, who had been placed in solitary confinement, received an “overdose quantity” of medication on June 12—far exceeding his usual dosage for anxiety and sleep. The following day, June 13, he was taken to Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, but was later removed against medical advice.

The filing describes how Kelly, 58, serving a 30-year sentence for racketeering and sex trafficking at FCI Butner in North Carolina, woke up that morning feeling faint and dizzy. “He started to see black spots in his vision. Mr. Kelly tried to get up, but fell to the ground,” the motion reads. “He crawled to the door of the cell and lost consciousness.” Onsite medical staff were unable to stabilize him, prompting an ambulance transport to the hospital, where he remained for two days.

According to the attorneys, they weren’t able to reach Kelly until June 16 after an earlier call was canceled without explanation. They assert that just days before the incident, Kelly had been placed in solitary confinement on June 10 “against his will” following an emergency motion his team filed for his release. That motion alleged that three Bureau of Prisons officials had devised a plan to have him killed by another inmate.

R. Kelly appears in court wearing an orange prison jumpsuit as legal proceedings continue amid new allegations regarding his treatment in custody.

Kelly’s lawyers also claim he was denied essential treatment for blood clots. The motion explains he was scheduled to undergo surgery while at Duke University Hospital, requiring a two-week stay. Instead, officers armed with guns entered his hospital room within an hour of notifying FCI Butner and returned him to solitary confinement. “His life is in jeopardy right now because the Bureau of Prisons denied him necessary surgery to clear clots from his lungs,” they wrote. “He could die from this condition, and they are letting it happen.”

The Bureau of Prisons has declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Federal prosecutors, in their response, dismissed the claims as “fanciful” and “theatrical.” They argued the emergency motions were filed incorrectly—submitted in the wrong court, using the wrong case type, and failing to follow procedure. Prosecutors also accused Kelly of being a “master manipulator” and said the motion “makes a mockery of the harm suffered by Kelly’s victims.”

They warned that granting Kelly home confinement could set a dangerous precedent: “If Kelly were to be released… every convicted murderer, rapist, and terrorist will have a newfound shot at freedom.”

Kelly is serving concurrent sentences following convictions in 2021 and 2022 for racketeering, sex trafficking, child pornography, and enticement. He was sentenced to 30 years in federal court in New York and 20 years in a separate Chicago case, with one year of the latter to be served consecutively.