Attorneys for rapper YNW Melly are praying a federal court judge will release him from prison ahead of his double murder retrial in Broward.
YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is charged with shooting two friends to death back in 2018. He’s been in custody since his arrest in February of 2019. His first murder trial in 2023 ended in mistrial.
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Now his attorneys claim Demons should be released from custody because the conditions of his confinement are unlawful.
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A recently-filed petition claims Demons' "current detention conditions shock the conscience.” It goes on to say he "continues to be subjected to the type of debilitating isolation that renders his conditions of incarceration cruel, unusual and beyond belief."
The petition claims Demons has not been permitted to make a single phone call or have a single visit with his family, including his mother, in over three years.
Last month, a judge ordered the Broward Sheriff’s Office to explain why Demons shouldn’t be released based on the petition’s claims.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office now has until December 16th, after a 10-day request for more time, to respond to the judge’s order.
"The Broward Sheriff’s Office does not generally comment on pending litigation. Our Office of General Counsel will be responding to the judge’s order," BSO said in a ststement. "Jamell 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."
Michael Pizzi, a lawyer for Demons, said the petition doesn’t challenge the merits of the criminal charges he faces. The goal is for the judge to review the conditions of his confinement and consider ordering a pre-trial release.
Demons' second double murder trial is currently scheduled to begin in September of 2025.
