YNW Melly begs for prison release after seven years behind bars
YNW Melly has requested bail once again after spending seven years in jail on murder charges.
The Florida rapper (real name Jamell Demons) is accused of killing his childhood friends, YNW Sakchaser (real name Anthony Williams) and YNW Juvy (real name Christopher Thomas Jr), in October 2018.
According to TMZ, Melly has asked to be released on bond while he awaits his trial. The artist’s lawyer, Drew Findling, claims he’s living in “dehumanising” conditions at Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale.
Documents allege that Melly entered solitary confinement in December 2021 on a 23 and one schedule, resulting in him being alone in a cell for 23 hours a day and allowed out for just one hour. During that hour, he’s allegedly not allowed to interact with other inmates.
In addition, Melly claims he hasn’t been allowed phone calls or visits for four years after his visitation and phone privileges were revoked in 2022.
As a result of the solitary confinement, Melly states that it can be psychologically damaging and lead to long-term physical and mental illness.
Melly has been in prison since February 2019. He went on trial in 2023, but it ended in a mistrial. His second trial is scheduled for January 2027.
The rapper is facing a potential death penalty or life sentence, with police claiming he staged the crime scene to appear as a drive-by shooting. Sakchaser and Juvy suffered multiple gunshot wounds, with YNW Bortlen accused of driving their bodies to an emergency room.
In January, four of Melly’s charges were dropped, including tampering with a witness, directing activities of a criminal gang, criminal solicitation to commit murder, and conspiracy to tamper with a witness on a capital felony.