R. Kelly petitions Trump to commute 30-year prison sentence

Convicted singer R. Kelly has formally petitioned President Donald Trump to commute his 30-year federal prison sentence, according to records from the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney made public this week. The request, which seeks a reduction of his sentence but not a pardon that would erase his convictions, is listed as pending review.

Kelly, 59, is serving concurrent sentences from two separate federal cases. In September 2021, a jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted him on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, finding he used his fame and organization to systematically abuse women and girls over decades. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison on June 29, 2022. A separate prosecution in Chicago resulted in a September 2022 conviction on charges of producing child sexual abuse imagery and enticing minors. He received a 20-year sentence in February 2023, with all but one year ordered to run concurrently with his New York term.

Without clemency or other relief, Kelly is not eligible for release until 2045, when he would be nearly 79 years old. His legal appeals have been largely exhausted; the Supreme Court declined to review his convictions in 2024 and...