R. Kelly Doesn’t Want White People On Jury For His Trial
R Kelly is set to stand trial in Chicago in relation to some other charges being brought against the man, but his legal counsel are attempting to keep white people out of the jury.
R Kelly is currently about to stand trial for his heinous crimes. The singer was formally sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and racketeering in New York. He now stands trial for several criminal counts that include abusing young women and recording those interactions. Kelly and his team had apparently been working overtime in the jury selection process, as the disgraced singer is trying to block out white people from appearing on the jury. We are not sure how that is going to affect the overall outcome of the trial, but he might be trying anything to help his case.
R Kelly and his team also filed a motion to keep our jurors who happened to see the docuseries called, Surviving R. Kelly. His lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, stated that anyone who happened to see that series would be serving as an impartial jury. However, the presiding judge over the case shut that motion down, along with the motion to have Kelly and his team keep white people from serving on the jury. Again, we are not sure exactly what keeping white people off the jury is going to solve. The man is accused of some serious charges and has already been convicted of many crimes relating to those same types of allegations.
Opening arguments for both sides are said to begin this afternoon, and R Kelly could be looking at even more prison time should he be convicted of any further crimes. He is to stand trial in Chicago for sexually abusing five minors in the early 1990s and creating tapes of these encounters with at least four of the five victims. Kelly had been acquitted of child pornography charges 14 years ago in Illinois, but now he is set to face trial on federal charges that are related to that state trial. Prosecutors and jurors are going to be shown these videos that show Kelly with underage girls. These tapes will not be shown to the public and media, as they are considered contraband.
Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown are also co-defendants in this trial, as they are accused of aiding R Kelly during the time in which this child pornography had allegedly taken place. McDavid is being charged with child pornography and obstruction. Brown is being charged with one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography. The accusations are that Brown and McDavid are being accused of working with others to pay victims off so they would be uncooperative with law enforcement. They are also accused of covering up evidence that is related to the videos that were taken by Kelly.
R Kelly will already be serving 30 years in prison, but now he might be looking at far many more years if he is convicted of these child pornography charges that await him in Chicago. Perhaps his team thinks that keeping white jurors away from the trial will somehow result in a better outcome for him and his associates. With opening statements meant to take place today, more grisly details could be coming out about these horrific allegations.
