PART 5: THE LAST HOPEAt night, after lights out, the prison is never really dark. The hallway light slips under the door.R. Kelly says that’s when he prays. Not the big, performative prayer from his gospel albums. A quiet one.”God, if you still hear me…”He is serving a 30-year sentence. He will be in his 80s when it ends. His lawyers are still filing appeals, still claiming he didn’t get a fair trial, still fighting for a new chance. The courts have denied most of them so far.He knows the world outside is divided. Some fans still play “I Believe I Can Fly” at weddings and say “separate the art from the artist.” Others say his music should never be played again. He says he understands both sides now.”I can’t change the past,” he said in his last reported message. “I can only sit here with it. Every single day, I sit here with it. All I have is time. Time to think about every person I hurt, every person I disappointed, including myself.”When asked what he wants people to know, he didn’t talk about music. He didn’t talk about a comeback album. He said:”Tell them I am still a man. I am not a monster in a cell. I am a man who is lonely, who is sorry, who is trying to find a reason to live when everyone has left. Tell my kids I love them. Tell them their father is still here.”The phone call then cut off. The 15 minutes were over.The automated voice said: “This call was from a federal prison.”And then, again, silence.
SAD NEWS: R. Kelly Speaks on Feeling Abandoned in Prison 💔
