Trial of YNW Melly
| Demons | |
|---|---|
| Court | 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida |
| Full case name | State Florida v. Jamell Demons |
| Submitted | February 13, 2019 |
| Started | June 12, 2023 |
| Decided | July 22, 2023 (First trial) |
| Verdict | First trial: Hung jury |
| Charge |
|
| Prosecution | Alixandra Buckelew |
| Defense | Stuart Adelstein, Jaime Benjamin |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | John J. Murphy III, Brayden K. Poirier, Martin Fein |
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, was accused of 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’ 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.
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.
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.
As of May 2024, the trial is currently on pause awaiting the adjudication of a video from Demons' YouTube channel as evidence. Demons' attorneys requested to move forward with the discovery phase of the trial, but the judge has not yet ruled on this request due to the ongoing appeal