Rapper YNW Melly is accusing the Broward Sheriff’s Office of cruel treatment behind bars in a new lawsuit and asking a Florida judge for his immediate release from prison.
The 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Jamell Demons, has been incarcerated since February 2019 after he was accused of murdering his two childhood friends Chris “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams, in 2018.
His first double murder trial ended in a mistrial last summer. Melly’s retrial date is set for September 10, 2025.
However, Melly’s attorney Michael Pizzi Jr. claims in a lawsuit that the rapper is being “illegally detained under conditions that violate the First, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution” at the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale.
Jamell Demons, also known as rapper YNW Melly, waits in the courtroom for a question from the jury as they deliberate at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on July 22, 2023.
AP Photo
The complaint claims Melly has not been able to see or speak to his family in several years and has been experiencing “debilitating isolation.”
“His cruel treatment by the Broward detention authorities warrants his immediate release from pretrial detention since the detaining authorities have shown such a callous disregard for his human dignity right to counsel,” Pizzi writes in the lawsuit.
During a press conference for the lawsuit on Monday, Pizzi claimed he has not been able to see Melly without glass between them or show him documents in a private conversation.
“They’re trying to break him down and get a result that they cannot get in the court system,” Pizzi claimed. “They are trying to wear him down mentally by not letting him even talk or visit with his mother or his brother.”
Melly’s mother, Jamie King, and brother also attended the press conference.
“It’s heartbreaking. Some days I don’t know if he’s alive in there. I don’t know if something’s happened to him in there,” King told reporters. “I have no communication whatsoever.”
She added that she sends Melly postcards and when he responds, it’s usually from a letter she sent weeks ago.
“The last time I heard my son’s voice on the phone said 2022. He was sad, but he was okay,” King reflected. “Now, I don’t know. I haven’t heard his voice.”
“Jamell, if you watch this today, I just want you to know that I love you. I’m going to continue fighting for you and I just want to know that you’re okay,” King said. “I just want to hear your voice and see your face. And, I’m going to get you home.”
Melly’s 17-year-old brother also had a message for him.
“We’re working endless nights and endless days to get your home and at least just get your phone calls back,” he told the rapper. “I miss you very much.”
Melly is being held at the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale. The Main Jail is an all-male facility that can hold 1,538 inmates who are mostly awaiting trial or sentencing or are serving terms of less than one year.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office told Newsweek in an email that they do not comment on pending litigation.
“Note, Mr. Demons has been placed on administrative segregation, which is a classification resulting in an alternate living assignment for an inmate whose placement in the general population poses a serious threat to the safety of staff or inmates, or life and property,” they said of Melly.
Who is YNW Melly?
YNW Melly, 25, is a rapper and songwriter from Gifford, Florida, best known for his breakout hit Murder on My Mind and Mixed Personalities featuring Kanye West.
His legal troubles began making headlines in 2019 when he was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
On October 26, 2018, YNW Melly was accused of fatally shooting two of his friends, Anthony Williams (YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy), in Miramar, Florida.
Prosecutors claim that YNW Melly, along with fellow rapper YNW Bortlen (Cortlen Henry), staged the murders to look like a drive-by shooting. Melly was arrested in February 2019 and has been in jail since.
YNW Melly, real name Jamell Demons, is seen in a police booking photo after being charged with two counts of murder in the first degree on February 13, 2019, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Getty Images
A self-recorded video of Melly stuffed inside a suitcase before turning himself into the Miramar police was shown in court, but not to jurors.
“My name is Melly, and I’m going to turn myself in,” he whispers in the February 2019 video. “But I’m in a suitcase because these c—kers are arresting me, and I want to get on a private jet so they don’t see me.”
YNW Bortlen was also arrested as an accomplice. Both were charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Melly.
Prosecutors claim that forensic evidence, including phone records and ballistic reports, shows Melly’s involvement in the killings. They allege that Melly shot both victims from inside the car and then worked with YNW Bortlen to stage the crime scene.
The exact motive behind the alleged murders remains unclear, though there have been various theories, including disputes over money or power within the group. The State of Florida is seeking the death penalty, citing the premeditated nature of the crime, Melly’s alleged actions to cover it up, and the brutality of the incident.
The trial has faced multiple delays, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and legal maneuvering by the defense.
On July 22, 2023, over a month after the start of the trial, Judge John Murphy declared a mistrial after the jury remained deadlocked on the charges for three days. They were at a 9-to-3 vote in favor of convicting the rapper on lesser offenses of manslaughter.
The trial was paused in May for the legal ruling of a video from Melly’s YouTube channel as evidence. Prosecutors plan to admit Melly’s lyrics into evidence for his retrial.
Melly also faces legal challenges related to his time in jail, including accusations of conspiracy to escape from prison, though these have not been substantiated.
Melly is being held at the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale. In September, a judge denied his lawyers’ request for bond as he awaits retrial.
Bortlen was freed on bond in August 2021 but reportedly arrested on witness tampering charges following a Miami home raid by law enforcement in October 2023. He was originally slated to begin his trial that same month but it has been rescheduled.
Bortlen has been held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Florida since October.
YNW Melly’s Mental Health
In 2022, Melly’s legal team filed a motion to declare him mentally incompetent to stand trial, although the prosecution has contested this claim.
Melly told Complex in 2019 that he has multiple personality disorder, a dissociative disorder that involves having two or more distinct identities within the same person. Melly claimed to have six personalities but has only revealed Melly and Melvin.
“Melvin’s not an alter ego; it’s a person,” he told the outlet. “I got mixed personalities. It’s another person.”
“Melly is a joker. He’s just the one that everybody loves, and he loves everybody,” he continued. “Melvin is the one that protect Melly from the wrong people.”
Melly has also claimed that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ADHD.
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