R. Kelly’s Attorney Compared Him To Martin Luther King Jr. In His Closing Arguments
All this time I thought Robert Sylvester Kelly was on trial for some repugnant ass shit like sex trafficking and racketeering, but according to his attorney, he was actually on trial for defending The US Constitution and the “freedom of speech” and “freedom of assembly” guaranteed to all within that hallowed document. Much like Robert’s fallen comrade, the great Martin Luther King Jr. Yes, he really said that mess with a straight face in a court of law while delivering his closing arguments at R. Kelly’s trial.
At least the MSG defense was original (that’s when you allegedly drug and sexually assault a girl and blame it on the Chinese food you were kind enough to bring her after, allegedly, keeping her locked in a room for 3 or 4 days), but the MLK defense is as old, decrepit and ugly as Bill Cosby himself (TL:DR MLK-tired, MSG-wired). Robert is facing 10 years to life in prison if convicted of federal “racketeering charges accusing him of abusing women, girls and boys for more than two decades,” as well as “multiple violations of the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport anyone across state lines ‘for any immoral purpose.” (via KKTV11) Here’s what Robert’s attorney Deveraux Cannick would have the jury believe. via The New York Daily News:
During a fiery closing argument to a Brooklyn Federal Court jury, R. Kelly’s lawyer conflated the R&B superstar’s alleged sex trafficking and sex with teenage women with Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for civil rights.
Cannick said Kelly and King both sought to uphold America’s Constitution, and quoted from King’s famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered in Memphis in 1968 the day before King was assassinated.
“Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech,” Cannick said. “Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly.”
“That’s all Robert is trying to do,” the lawyer added, insisting that his client and King both sought to make America “be true to what’s on paper.”
Oh man, who is going to tell him Robert definitely hasn’t read the constitution? But with stellar representation like Deveraux here is providing, he’s going to have plenty of time to rectify that. You don’t hire a defense attorney named Deveraux because he’s cheap, has no shame, and will do it for the notoriety. I mean, yes, in this case, that’s obviously what happened, but you also do it because you know you’re going to get some good, old-fashioned, down-home, sweet-tea swilling, church fan flapping, Southern-style posturing, and pontification. But like, in Brooklyn. And Deveraux did not disappoint.
He said the jury’s task in deciding the case was comparable to that undertaken by King and civil rights activists in the 1960s.
“You don’t have to worry about being beaten, maimed or killed. You just have to do your job,” Cannick said.
Too bad the same couldn’t be said of Robert’s alleged victims. I know Deveraux was probably going for an Inherit The Wind moment there, but the only wind he’s about to inherit is 12 angry farts blown in his general direction. According to CNN:
On Wednesday, prosecutors showed jurors multiple recordings that were seized by authorities during raids of Kelly’s apartment in the Trump Tower Chicago and a storage unit associated with the singer.
Journalists and members of the public were not able to see, hear or read transcripts of the recordings and it was not clear what types of interactions the recordings documented. But in a court filing, prosecutors said Kelly can be heard, but not seen, in one video “beginning to physically assault” a woman. “He also directly threatens her, ‘If you lie to me, I’m gonna fuck you up,'” the September 14 filing said.
CNN adds that over the course of the 20-day trial, the jury heard from 45 witnesses.
Jurors have heard from witnesses ranging from former live-in girlfriends of the singer to his former employees, many of whom were subpoenaed to testify against the singer. Kelly faces racketeering and sex trafficking charges, which he has pleaded not guilty to.
Since his trial began in Brooklyn federal court on August 18, multiple witnesses have testified that Kelly sexually and physically abused them, directed them to stay in rooms — sometimes for days — and had to ask for permission from Kelly or his associates to go to the bathroom or get food.
I know Harper Lee told us all it is a sin To Kill a Mockingbird, but it’s actually morally correct to imprison a depraved turkey vulture who thinks he’s a prize peacock.
Here are the courtroom sketches from today’s closing arguments. CNN reports that the jury has already begun their deliberations.
Pic: Elizabeth Williams/AP