Trial of YNW Melly

The State of Florida v. Jamell Demons is an ongoing American criminal case in Florida's 17th Judicial Circuit in which rapper Jamell Demons, commonly known by his stage name YNW Melly, is charged with murdering his two friends, Anthony D'Andre Williams (YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Jermaine Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy) in October 2018. If convicted, he faces either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. If Demons is convicted, he will be one of the first defendants to be sentenced under Governor Ron DeSantis's new non-unanimous death sentence law, in which the jury will only need to have at least eight out of twelve jurors agree to recommend the death penalty rather than it being unanimous.[1][2]

Florida v. Demons
Case Number 19001872CF10A
Court17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida
Full case nameThe State of Florida v. Jamell Demons
SubmittedFebruary 13, 2019
StartedJune 12, 2023
VerdictFirst trial: Hung jury
Charge
ProsecutionAlixandra Buckelew
DefenseStuart Adelstein, Jaime Benjamin
Court membership
Judge sittingJohn J. Murphy III

The case gained massive public interest due to Demons' most popular single being "Murder on My Mind", a rap song in which Demons discusses hypothetical homicidal ideation.[3]

On July 22, 2023, Judge John Murphy declared a mistrial after the jury remained deadlocked on the charges, with a 9-to-3 vote in favor of convicting Demons on the lesser offenses of manslaughter.[4] The prosecution will begin to retry the case on October 2023.[5]

Background

In October 2018, Demons and his friends Anthony D'Andre Williams (YNW Sakchaser), Christopher Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy), and Cortlen Malik Henry (YNW Bortlen) were at a recording studio. Williams and Thomas would later be driven to the hospital by Henry after being shot dead in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in what Demons and Henry claimed was a drive-by shooting. The four rappers were to appear in a music video by another local rapper the following afternoon. Demons and Henry appeared in it.

Arrests and charges

Following a grand jury indictment of Demons and Henry for the murders, Demons and Henry were arrested on February 13, 2019, and charged with the premeditated first-degree murders of Williams and Thomas. Demons pleaded not guilty.[6][7][8]

Trial

Jury selection for the trial of Demons started on April 11, 2023. The trial began on June 12, 2023. Prosecutors sought the death penalty.[9][10][11][12][13]

Opening statements

Both the prosecution and defense gave opening statements on June 12, 2023.

Prosecution

Prosecutor Kristine Bradley gave the state's opening statement. She stated that Demons and Henry murdered their two friends, Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas and attempted to stage it as a drive-by shooting. She claimed that Demons confessed to murdering Williams and Thomas when he stated on Instagram direct messages in response to a question about their deaths, "I did that. Shh."

Defense

Defense attorney David A. Howard stated that there was no motive for Demons to murder his friends, and that the state's case is "riddled" with reasonable doubt. He went on to discuss his perspective of the murder investigation, "And, if after four years of investigation, the state comes and says, 'Hey, he killed two of his best friends.' And you're wondering why, and their answer is, 'Uh, I dunno.' That's the first indication that they're just guessing and don't know what they're talking about. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is, by itself, reasonable doubt."[14][15]

Mistrial

The jury deliberated for fourteen hours over three days but were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, even after the judge gave them an Allen charge, a direction which urged them to try to come to unanimous conclusion. Melly remained in custody awaiting retrial in October.[16] The new trial proceedings were set to begin on October 9, 2023. Jury selection began on October 17, 2023[17]

A juror in the case stated in an interview to Local 10 that the hung jury was a vote of 9-to-3 in favor of convicting Demons on two lesser offenses of manslaughter. The juror stated that it was initially a vote of 11-to-1, but accused another juror of being explosive and manipulative to other members of the jury, going as far as to shout homophobic slurs at a juror, eventually persuading two others to come to her side.[4]

References
  1. "Gov. Ron DeSantis has made it easier to impose the death penalty in Florida". NPR. April 27, 2023. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023.
  2. Mazzei, Patricia (April 20, 2023). "DeSantis Signs Law Lowering Death Penalty Threshold in Florida". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  3. "YNW Melly's "Murder On My Mind" Nabs No. 1 Spot On Apple Music Amid Murder Charges". HipHopDX. February 16, 2019. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  4. "Most jurors wanted to convict YNW Melly of 2 murders in Broward, former juror says". July 31, 2023.
  5. "YNW Melly verdict: Judge declares mistrial after deadlock". July 22, 2023.
  6. "- Broward County Clerk of Courts". www.browardclerk.org. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  7. "Inmate Detail". apps.sheriff.org. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  8. Moore, Mary (February 14, 2019). "Grand jury indictment: YNW Melly fired the gun, killing the friends he grew up with". TCPalm. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023.
  9. Gallagher, Alex (November 11, 2022). "YNW Melly potentially facing death penalty if convicted after new appeals court ruling". NME. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  10. Strauss, Matthew (November 10, 2022). "YNW Melly Potentially Facing Death Penalty After Appeals Court Ruling". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  11. Donahue, Bill (November 10, 2022). "YNW Melly Could Face Death Penalty After Florida Appeals Court Sides With Prosecutors". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  12. Price, Joe (November 10, 2022). "YNW Melly Might Face Death Penalty If Convicted Following Appeals Court Decision". Complex. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  13. Helfand, Raphael (November 11, 2022). "YNW Melly facing potential death penalty following new ruling". The Fader. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  14. Kalmbacher, Colin (June 12, 2023). "Prosecutor claims YNW Melly admitted to killing 2 of his friends in an Instagram direct message – defense mocks law enforcement in opening statements". Law & Crime. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  15. "Trial begins for rapper YNW Melly in 2018 double murder in Miramar". NBC 6 South Florida. June 12, 2023. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  16. YNW Melly murder case ends in mistrial, Sun-Sentinel, Rafael Olmeda, July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  17. YNW Trial Set for October, Sun Sentinel, Angie DiMichele, Rafael Olmeda, July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
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