Let me begin by saying that I am not a fan of R. Kelly — his music or his lyrics. If he is guilty of sexual assault, he should suffer the consequences of his actions. However, I am also not a fan of declaring a man guilty without due process. I have gone on record expressing my concern with the black obsession with R. Kelly and his explicit lyrics. Over the years, R. Kelly has done some questionable things to women. I have heard rumors and wondered how he has maintained popularity in black culture — particularly among black women. As a teenager, I personally witnessed his sexually explicit antics on stage and it made me question if he had mental issues. So it didn’t surprise me when he was indicted and charged in the early 2000s. I was surprised that he was ultimately acquitted of child pornography charges.

Almost two decades after being acquitted and the #MeToo movement sweeping across U.S., a recent BuzzFeed article brought R. Kelly’s past back to life. The #MeToo movement has finally found an easy target in the black community to send ALL men a clear message. R.Kelly is currently being accused of holding minors and adult women against their will and sexually assaulting them. Parents have accused R. Kelly of kidnapping their daughters and holding close to 50 of them hostage. Lifetime executive producer Dream Hampton even produced a six-part series to detail the allegations of these women, and attempted to try R. Kelly in the court of public opinion. After the series aired, the #MeToo movement and Hollywood elites began to call for R. Kelly to be arrested. The social campaign #MuteRKelly has been launched to stop radio stations from playing his music. Some on social media went as far as to call for a public hanging of R. Kelly.

R. Kelly denied all claims in a recent ABC interview with Gayle King. He said, “Y'all are trying to kill me, man.” After this interview R. Kelly was arrested for not paying $161,000 in child support.

As a Christian, I find these allegations against R. Kelly appalling. There is a possibility of them being true. But, as a Constitutionalist, I find the rush to a conviction and to publicly hang a man without due process troubling. It is one thing to have an opinion. It’s another thing to call for the death of someone without due process. As a Christian Constitutionalist, I try to be consistent when it comes to my faith and the Constitution. R. Kelly may be a sick individual, but he has not yet been convicted of any crime in the court of law. Is he morally bankrupt and possibly sexually addicted? Yes! But has he been convicted by a jury of his peers? No! Does he have the presumption of innocence under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments? Yes! We live in social media world of comments but we need to have a conversation about this. We know R. Kelly was sexually abused by his sister from age 7-14. Where is the call from the #MeToo folks to prosecute his sister? Oh, the statute of limitations? Why can’t we apply the same “due process” law to R. Kelly?

Again, I denounce sexual assault against women. But I also support the Constitution and due process for all Americans. I believe in the presumption of innocence and a right to a fair and speedy trial regardless of my opinions. We have to be very careful rushing to convict someone with public opinion. This type of irresponsible rhetoric can destroy someone’s life. This type of irresponsibility has led to citizens being imprisoned for charges that were later proven to be lies.

Emmett Till was publicly lynched by white men based on “believing a woman” who later recanted her story. In 2018, Brett Kavanaugh, a highly vetted Supreme Court nominee, was publicly scolded based on believing women who couldn’t prove their inconsistent stories. Recently, a Baylor University football player was cleared of rape charges after text messages proved that a woman lied about the sexual encounter, albeit only after leaving any hope for his professional football career in shambles.

I’m not suggesting that this is the case with R. Kelly, but I am suggesting that we pause and allow due process and the Constitution to work. If women truly want to be believed and build trust with the court system, they should present factual evidence to courts in a timely manner and allow a jury to decide. We should deal with this situation with love, compassion, and according to the Constitution.

Our Founders framed our Constitution in this manner not to protect criminals but to protect our civil liberties and rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.