YNW Melly is still alive and presently at the Broward County Jail, where he has been incarcerated since February 2019. The rapper is charged with the first-degree murder of his two childhood friends and fellow YNW associates, Anthony D’Andre Williams (YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy), who were shot dead in October 2018.
YNW Melly has always maintained his innocence, and his first trial ended up in a hung jury. His second trial is set to commence in October 2023, and all his efforts thus far to be temporarily released from jail have proved unsuccessful.
Is YNW Melly Still Alive Today?
YNW Melly is still very much alive to this present day. As pointed out above, the rapper is presently incarcerated at the Broward County Jail and is awaiting a second trial for the two first-degree murder charges that he is facing.
The death rumors surrounding YNW Melly may have to do with the fact that he has been incarcerated for a long time and hasn’t released any new music in quite a while. This may make some people erroneously assume he might have died, but this is false.
Meanwhile, YNW Melly may receive the death penalty if found guilty of the two first-degree murder charges he is currently facing in Florida.
Before his first trial commenced, his lawyers filed an application asking the court to declare that he could not receive the death penalty if convicted. This application was successful, but the prosecution appealed against it, and they succeeded. A further appeal by Melly’s defense team failed at the Florida Supreme Court in early 2023.
YNW Melly’s fate is further compounded by a new law signed by Ron Desantis, Florida governor, in April 2023. The law states that a unanimous jury decision on guilt is not required for the death penalty to be imposed. It is enough if 8 out of 12 jury members decide the defendant is guilty. YNW Melly will, therefore, be hoping that such a threshold is not reached in his case if he is found guilty.
Where Is YNW Melly Now?
YNW Melly is presently at the Broward County Jail in Florida. He has been there since the 13th of February 2019 when he voluntarily turned himself in after law enforcement declared him wanted in connection with the murder of his two childhood friends and associates, Anthony D’Andre Williams (YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy).
YNW Melly has always insisted that the allegations against him are false and that he had nothing to do with the death of his friends. The prosecutors, however, say otherwise. They believe that Melly and a friend named Cortlen Henry (YNW Bortlen) shot the two young men dead and staged the whole thing to look like a drive-by shooting.
YNW Melly remains in prison because the crime he is accused of is a capital felony that carries the death penalty. The rapper has publicly complained that he feared for his life in jail as two guards have threatened to beat him up and isolate him from other inmates. His mother, Jamie Demons-King, has also made the same allegations, saying that her son’s phone privileges have been revoked, which makes communicating with him difficult.
Is YNW Melly Out of Jail?
YNW Melly is not out of jail despite the several attempts that he has made in that regard. Back in 2020, the rapper informed fans that he had contracted covid-19. He went on to file an application through his lawyers for a pre-trial release. The rapper, whose real name is Jamell Maurice Demons, claimed that he was suffering from chills, body aches, and breathing difficulties and that the authorities were not taking steps to help make him recover at a fast rate.
He also pointed out that the jail doesn’t have the capacity to take care of him if his symptoms were to worsen. The family members of his alleged victims sympathized with him but opposed his release. He was denied release from jail and asked to get his treatments from the health personnel provided by the prison authorities.
When Is YNW Melly Coming Back?
YNW Melly is not coming back anytime soon. The rapper will most likely remain in jail until his second murder trial is concluded. That second trial is set to commence in October 2023, and if found innocent, YNW Melly will be immediately released from jail. However, if found guilty, he won’t be leaving the facility.
YNW Melly could have been released from jail in September 2023, but his bond application was rejected by the court. That month, his lawyers filed an application for an Arthur hearing to see if he could be released on bond since his offense was not eligible for bail. The prosecutors opposed the application.
The Arthur hearing took place on 15th September 2023, and Melly’s defense attorney urged the court to release him, pointing out that the fact that his first trial ended in a hung jury meant that there was a reasonable doubt about guilt and that the evidence of the prosecutors didn’t meet the high burden threshold. The lawyer pleaded with the court to release Melly on bond, as he was still presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The prosecutor, Kristine Bradley, countered this by saying that the reason the first trial had ended up with a hung jury was because one of the jury members was a fan of Melly’s, who had lied during the jury selection process. She also urged the court to take into consideration the victims’ families.
Leondra Phillips, the mother of one of Melly’s alleged victims, Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy), asked the court not to grant bond to Melly given the “serious accusations against him.” She also alluded to fearing for the safety of her and her family members, stating that she doesn’t want anything to happen to her or her relatives.
The court took about a week to reach its decision and ultimately held that YNW Melly should not be released from jail but should rather stay there for the duration of his second murder trial, which is set to commence in October 2023. It is not immediately clear if YNW Melly can or even plans to appeal the decision of the Author Hearing, meaning that he will be in jail for the foreseeable future.
