At first appearance since mistrial, YNW Melly hears his new double murder trial date

Rapper YNW Melly appeared in court Friday for the first time since his double murder case ended with a hung jury — and a mistrial.

Melly, and several observers, chuckled when another inmate leaving a hearing in the courtroom shouted “Free Melly” as he walked out.

Prosecutor Kristine Bradley requested a trial start date of Oct. 2, to which the defense team agreed. She also asked to try the rapper with co-defendant Cortlen Henry, known as YNW Bortlen.

Defense attorney Stuart Adelstein objected to trying Melly with Henry because Melly is facing the death penalty and Henry isn’t.

Broward Circuit Court Judge John Murphy, however, didn’t rule on Bradley’s request.

Last week, the jury in the first trial told Murphy after three days of deliberation that it couldn’t come to a final decision on Melly’s two first-degree murder charges. Murphy declared a mistrial.

READ MORE: Mistrial declared after jury deadlocked in YNW Melly double murder trial

A mistrial doesn’t mean Melly was found not guilty. Mistrials usually occur after a jury is unable to reach a verdict or if there was misconduct or a serious error that could lead to an unfair trial. Prosecutors may pursue a new trial within 90 days of the original trial, in most cases.

Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of gunning down his childhood friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. in an alleged drive-by cover-up after spending the night of Oct. 26, 2018, at a Fort Lauderdale recording studio. Williams and Thomas, both aspiring rappers with the YNW collective, were known as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy, respectively.

The 24-year-old’s case was among the first being considered after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law to lower the threshold for a death sentence to an 8-4 jury vote, from a unanimous vote.

This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 10:11 AM.

Grethel Aguila

Miami Herald

Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.