Rapper Jamelle Demons, known professionally as YNW Melly, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking release from prison ahead of his retrial on charges of murdering two close friends in 2018.
The lawsuit alleges Demons, 25, is “illegally detained under conditions that violate the First, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
These conditions, according to the indictment, include the inability to call or receive visits from family members, “including not seeing or speaking to his own mother in over three years!!!”
Demons has been held without bail since his arrest for the murders of fellow rappers Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams. Demons’ first trial ended in a hung jury in 2023. His retrial is tentatively scheduled for 2025, although exact dates have not been set. He must appear in court again in January.
No date has yet been set for the hearing on the federal lawsuit.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
