YNW Melly was denied bond for a third time on Monday (May 12) in a Florida courtroom where a judge ruled he will stay behind bars until his double murder retrial begins in September.
The 25-year-old rapper, born Jamell Demons, has now spent more than six years in custody following his 2019 arrest in connection with the shooting deaths of two close friends, Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams, both part of the YNW music crew.
Prosecutors allege Melly staged the killings to look like a drive-by in October 2018.
His legal team pushed for pretrial release, offering house arrest and round-the-clock monitoring. They also cited what they described as “cruel and inhumane” treatment by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office during his incarceration.
However, the judge wasn’t swayed, remarking, “The court finds no basis for release,” ABC 6 South Florida reports.
Prosecutors argued against bond, pointing to “overwhelming evidence” including phone data and ballistic reports. They also noted Melly is facing additional charges for allegedly trying to tamper with witnesses.
The rapper’s first trial ended in a mistrial in July 2023 after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. If convicted in the upcoming retrial, Melly could face the death penalty.
YNW Melly Argues Jail Conditions An Attempt To “Break Him Psychologically”
In November 2024, Melly filed a federal lawsuit against the Broward Sheriff’s Office, claiming he’s been subjected to extreme isolation and denied basic human contact.
The complaint says he’s been held in administrative segregation for years, without access to phone calls, visits, television or newspapers.
The lawsuit claims Melly is being “unlawfully detained under conditions that infringe upon First, Sixth, Eighth, Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.”
His attorney, Michael Pizzi Jr., said, “They’re attempting to break him psychologically and achieve a result unattainable through the judicial process. They are to wear down mentally preventing him from even speaking to or visiting with his mother or brother.”
The complaint also states, “Demons is a black male whose current detention conditions shock the conscience and could not even be imagined in this day and age even in a third-world country that has no guard rails protecting human decency and dignity.”
YNW Melly’s retrial is scheduled to begin in September 2025.
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