The judge in YNW Melly’s murder case has requested law enforcement to explain why the rapper should remain in jail, potentially paving the way for his release before Christmas.
Judge Melissa Damian has granted Broward County Sheriff’s Office until December 6 to respond to Melly’s lawsuit regarding alleged mistreatment, or rapper will be released on bail until trial.
Melly’s trial is set to begin on September 10, 2025, but it may be changed.
The rapper, known as Jamell Demons, has been in prison since his initial arrest for a double murder in 2019.
Melly’s legal case, submitted at the beginning of the month, described the reported conditions of his confinement and demanded his prompt release from prison.
“The complaint describes Demons, a black man, as experiencing detention conditions that are so shocking and unimaginable that they surpass what one would expect even in a third-world country lacking protections for human decency and dignity.”
Petitioner Jamell Demons has been denied any contact with his family or the outside world, including his mother, for over three years.
“Demons is still facing the same kind of isolating conditions in prison that are considered cruel, unusual, and unbelievable in a civilized society with Constitutional protections.”
The lawsuit specifically brings up a 2022 dispute where Broward County officials claimed Melly was planning to break out of jail. It is stated that even though Melly was found innocent in a probe, he was “transferred from his present living quarters to isolation and all phone contact with the external world was stopped.”
The Sheriff’s Office responded by stating: “Solitary confinement is not used in the jail.” Instead, Mr. Demons has been assigned to administrative segregation, a classification that leads to a different living arrangement for an inmate deemed a serious threat to staff, inmates, or property if placed in the general population.
The rapper, aged 25, is being charged with killing two childhood friends, Chris “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams, in 2018 and staging it as a drive-by shooting.
A prior court case concluded with a jury that couldn’t reach a verdict.
