It’s been an intense few days for R. Kelly and Marion “Suge” Knight, as both convicted parties have had dramatic changes in their legal representation.
On Wednesday (February 16), Suge’s former attorney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and perjury charges after prosecutors claimed he sought to bribe witnesses into lying for the former Death Row Records head when he was hit with murder charges in 2016. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Matthew Fletcher, 57, is now barred from practicing law for life.
Fletcher was additionally charged as an accessory after the fact in Suge’s case and faced an additional count of bribery related to testimony given in front of the State Bar of California in 2016. Fletcher eventually reached a plea deal as the two-month-long trial wrapped, and in turn pleaded no contest to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one count of perjury.
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Fletcher will be placed on probation for five years and must resign from the state bar for life. If Fletcher doesn’t resign from practicing law in the next 90 days he could possibly be looking at time behind bars.
As for R. Kelly, it was reported by The Chicago Tribune on Thursday (February 17) that the disgraced R&B singer – who was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, racketeering and sex trafficking in New York in 2021 – fired his entire Chicago-based legal counsel in favor of Jennifer Bonjean, the lawyer responsible for appealing Bill Cosby’s conviction in 2018.
R. Kelly told US District Judge Harry Leinenweber of this change on Thursday (February 17) as he waits to stand trial in August for child pornography and obstruction of justice charges. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison. Bonjean is reportedly also working on Kelly’s New York appeal, which the singer received an extension for due to contracting COVID-19 In February.
