Jamell Demons, the rapper YNW Melly, with the word “murder” written on his face, who is better known as YNW Melly, isn’t getting out of his cell or a Florida jail anytime soon. The Florida rapper’s much-hyped retrial in a double murder that attracted widespread attention has been postponed again, this time after an appeal that no one wants to lift off the district court’s lap.
The retrial, scheduled to begin on September 10, has now been suspended indefinitely while the appeal is being heard. A second hearing is scheduled for July 9, but don’t count on the retrial being back on by then. This is sort of a “what next?” hearing. A meeting, a procedural check-in that could send the case whirring back to life, or further into the unknown.
Check Out This Article: Alleged Mastermind Behind Young Dolph Murder Faces New Trial Delay
Prosecutors didn’t pull any punches in court: When an appeal of this nature is filed, everything comes to a standstill. The legal freeze is automatic. So, for now, the retrial, already postponed multiple times due to back-and-forth sparring over evidence, is in a holding pattern, with no clear path to liftoff.
The judge, obviously exasperated, implored both sides to be prepared to move quickly when this legal speed bump was finally in the rearview mirror. However, readiness won’t mean much until the court system gives its approval.
This case has been taxiing in the holding pattern for years. Melly was arrested in 2019 for the deaths of his two pals and YNW members, YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser, who were buried “three feet apart” by their murderers back in October 2018. Prosecutors allege Melly and co-defendant YNW Bortlen tried to make the murders resemble a drive-by shooting, allegedly tampering with the car’s crime scene to signal to investigators that a shootout had occurred.
Both Melly and Bortlen have pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. Melly has already been denied bond and is being held in Broward County Jail, with a resolution hanging further out of reach.
The first trial was declared a mistrial in July 2023. The jury reportedly said it was deadlocked, divided 9-3 in support of a lesser manslaughter charge. The retrial there has subsequently foundered amid legal skirmishing, motions, and now, this pending appeal, which has placed everything in limbo again.
If he is convicted, Melly could get a life sentence without parole if, indeed, he isn’t sentenced to death. The stakes were raised for a failure, too: The Florida law had recently changed to the extent that a non-unanimous jury could now recommend that a death sentence be handed down.
For now, as we wait for the July 9 hearing to reveal the next legal maneuver, the only foregone conclusion in this case is uncertainty. One of the most highly scrutinized criminal trials in hip-hop history is in a holding pattern, and YNW Melly remains incarcerated, awaiting justice, judgment, or both.
0 Comments