Just weeks after attorneys asked a federal judge to release rapper YNW Melly from jail, they’re now demanding lawyers for the Broward Sheriff’s Office be disqualified from the case. NBC6’s Marissa Bagg reports
Just weeks after attorneys asked a federal judge to release rapper YNW Melly from jail, they’re now demanding lawyers for the Broward Sheriff’s Office be disqualified from the case.
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 a mistrial.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
>
The latest motion filed claims BSO's counsel was involved and aware of violations of Demons' constitutional rights while in custody. It stated, "Not allowing Demons to meet with his attorneys and prohibiting him from visiting with family for years violates his rights."
"We are asking the judge today to disqualify all the attorneys from the Broward Sheriff’s Office because we believe they are going to be witnesses in the case," said Demons' defense attorney Michael Pizzi. "We believe they either participated in imposing these restrictions or didn't do anything to stop it and they should have."
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
>
"Demons is on administrative segregation within the jail because placement in the general population poses a serious threat to the safety of staff or inmates, life or property," the Broward Sheriff’s Office told NBC6.
“There’s no justification ever for impeding with someone meeting with their lawyers to get ready for a case," Pizzi said. "And there’s absolutely no possible justification on this planet for the despicable act of not letting him have a phone call.”
BSO has until Monday to respond to a federal judge about the alleged constitutional rights violations.
Local
Demons' first double murder trial ended in July of 2023 in a mistrial. A retrial was delayed when the state attorney appealed a judge’s decision on a motion to suppress evidence.
Demons' second double murder trial is scheduled for September of next year.
