YNW Melly will await double-murder retrial in isolated jail unit in Broward
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The double murder trial of rapper YNW Melly
The double murder trial of rapper YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, has had many twists and turns since the South Florida artist was accused of killing his childhood best friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. in 2019.
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A Broward judge rejected rapper YNW Melly’s latest bid to get out of jail as he awaits his double-murder retrial.
Broward Circuit Court Judge Martin Fein’s ruling came almost a week after Melly’s latest Arthur hearing, which allows courts to consider setting bonds for defendants charged with crimes that aren’t usually eligible for bail. Melly’s attorneys argued that the rapper should be released because of his detention conditions, which include being kept in a unit by himself.
In an Arthur hearing, prosecutors have to establish that “proof is evident and the presumption great” that the accused person is guilty. This is a high burden — often considered even greater than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
“[T]his court continues to find that the State’s evidence is arguably sufficient to convict and is not contradicted in a material respect such that there is a substantial question of fact as to the guilt or innocence of the Defendant,” Fein said in the order, which was filed on Wednesday evening.
Melly, 27, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of gunning down his childhood friends Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. in a 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.
He has been locked up in Broward since 2019. His trial is set for 2027. If convicted, Melly faces the death penalty.
If Melly were granted a bond, attorney Drew Findling recommended that he be placed on house arrest — and tracked 24/7 through GPS monitoring. Melly’s team had a home equipped with a recording studio ready for the rapper to stay in, with private security guarding him.
READ MORE: YNW Melly, awaiting murder trial, is asking to be released from jail — again
Urging the judge to release Melly, Findling called several witnesses, including Melly’s grandmother, a representative from his management company and a mental-health expert. The attorney pointed to the conditions in which he is being held at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach.
Major Kevin Corbett, who works for the BSO’s detention department, testified that the rapper is kept in a 30-cell unit by himself and an emergency-response team — dressed in tactical attire — supervises him 24 hours a day. He is not allowed to interact with other inmates or have phone calls or visits with his family, the attorney said.
Last year, Melly sued the Broward Sheriff’s Office in federal court, seeking to be released due to the “debilitating isolation.” That case was dismissed.
“I’ve never seen the conditions that were described here,” Findling said this week. “This is the single worst thing I have ever heard.”
The Broward Sheriff’s Office previously told the Miami Herald that Melly is on administrative segregation, which is for inmates who pose a “serious threat to the safety of staff or inmates, or life and property.”
“The only reason the defendant is not in general population, in a regular dorm, in a regular pod, is because of his own actions,” prosecutor Alixandra Buckelew said during the hearing.
Melly was accused of tampering with a witness — his ex-girlfriend Mariah Hamilton — to keep her from testifying in the double-murder case. Prosecutors dropped that charge against the rapper in January.
Isolation is ‘damaging’: expert
Dr. Matthew Norman, a forensic psychologist called to the stand, compared Melly’s jail conditions to the film “Cast Away,” in which Tom Hanks played a man who was stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash.
The restrictive conditions, Norman said, could be damaging. Norman said he recommended Melly be released, even for the eight months until his trial, because just 15 days of isolation can take a toll on a person.
“It’s not like someone becomes accustomed to the isolation,” Norman said. “They may accept it ..., but that doesn’t mean the damage does not continue.”
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