YNW Melly is currently in prison awaiting trial for two counts of predetermined murder. On the 13th of February 2019, he was apprehended by the police for the murder of his close friends and YNW associates; YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.
Aside from making headlines for the wrong reasons, Jamell Maurice Demons, who is best known as YNW Melly, is also popular for his music career. He is best known for hit songs like Murder On My Mind and Mixed Personality which featured Kanye West. Unfortunately, if Melly is found guilty by the law, it may be the end of his music career. Here are some basic things to know about the charges against him.
Who Did YNW Melly Kill?
YNW Melly is being accused of killing YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy. To understand the entire story behind the charges laid against him, we would have to go back to the very beginning and that would be the day his friends were shot dead.
On the 26th of February 2018, Christopher Thomas Jr. a.k.a. YNW Juvy, 19, and Anthony Williams a.k.a. YNW Sakchaser, 21, were rushed to Memorial Hospital Miramar by Cortlen Henry (YNW Bortlen) at around 4:15 am.
According to the police report, these two rappers were shot by a drive-by shooter, unfortunately they couldn’t survive the wounds from the gunshots as they were confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital.
Both Christopher Thomas Jr and Anthony Williams were friends of YNW Melly and were YNW associates. Following the news of their death, YNW Melly took to Instagram to grieve. In the caption of his Instagram post, he stated that the perpetrators of this crime killed his friends because they are jealous and looking for a way to break and stop him.
The twist of the story came one year after the crime was committed when on the 12th of October 2019, the police charged YNW Melly for the death of Christopher Thomas Jr. and Anthony Williams.
YNW Melly’s Charges
YNW Melly is being charged with premeditated first-degree murder. Being charged with first-degree murder is no joke, but when it’s the murder of your close pals, it becomes more complicated.
On the 13th of October 2019, YNW Melly took to Instagram to announce to his fans that he would be turning himself in to the police for the murder of YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy. This was a day after the police charged him with first-degree murder of the two young and upcoming rappers.
YNW Melly was not the only person that was arrested by the police, Cortlen Henry (YNW Bortlen) was also arrested for working with Melly to murder their friends.
Is YNW Melly Free?
YNW Melly is not free and may be far from freedom for now seeing that he is yet to face trial. His fans and the world at large are all looking to see what the outcome of this complicated case will be, but from the looks of things, the legal system is not in a hurry.
Melly has been in prison since 2019 and is yet to face trial. After his arrest in 2019, he was set to face his first trial on November 30, 2021, but it was later shifted to March 7, 2022. The trial on the said date did not materialize as it was moved further to May 23, 2022. Once again, the trial date was moved to June 6, 2022, but the trial has still not taken place.
While YNW Melly and the world wait for his trial, he has been going to court to get a final decision as to whether he will be on death sentence if later declared guilty by the law.
Is YNW Melly Facing The Death Penalty?
Until the Florida Supreme Court says otherwise, YNW Melly may be facing the death penalty if found guilty. He is being accused of a capital crime and most times capital crimes like first-degree murder are handed capital penalties like an execution. However, YNW Melly’s lawyers are currently trying so hard to avoid the death penalty for him if he is found guilty.
On the 6th of June 2022, it was announced that he would not be executed if found guilty. This was after his lawyers petitioned the government in April 2022 arguing that the state did not keep to their part of the law.
The argument was based on the fact that in Florida, if the prosecutor plans to seek capital punishment, they will have to give a notice within 45 days of arraignment. However, in Melly’s case, the prosecutor gave notice of its intent to seek capital punishment when he was arrested in 2019 but did not do so when the superseding indictment was handed down in 2021, therefore, the ruling of the trial court went in favor of Melly.
Unfortunately for Melly, an appellate judge overturned the decision not to hand him a death sentence if found guilty. This ruling was announced on the 9th of November 2022 and the reason for the overturn, according to the appeal court, is that ‘a notice is a notice’ and the first notice given when he was arrested is enough.
YNW Melly’s lawyers have taken the case to the Florida Supreme Court.
Is YNW Melly Still In Jail?
Yes, YNW Melly is still in jail. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Melly (through his management) revealed that he had tested positive for COVID and was seeking to get an early release from prison as a result of his health issues. However, his demand was declined.
From time to time, Melly keeps his fans updated with news about his well-being in prison via his management. In December 2022, he raised alarms concerning alleged fear for his life in prison. According to him, new captains (Hubert and XO Jenkins) had taken over the prison and they were not treating him right.
They are allegedly subjecting him to harsher punishment. He stated that he is being held in a unit that houses 24 inmates, but he stays alone in his dorm and is not allowed to communicate with his family or other inmates. When other inmates are allowed to come out of their dorms, he is kept inside and whenever he is outside, other inmates are inside.
In a post that has now been deleted from Instagram, Melly said he wants to be moved to another jail while awaiting trial because he fears for his life.
Is YNW Melly Still Alive?
Yes, YNW Melly is still alive. Sometime in September 2020, people started spreading rumors that he was dead. Well, these rumors have turned out to be false seeing that Melly is still alive and has been updating his fans with recent happenings.
Melly’s case has taken years and will take more time for a final decision to be taken. For now, what we can do is wait to see the outcome.
