YNW Melly is hoping to avoid the death penalty as his murder trial approaches.
The incarcerated rapper’s legal team has filed motions in an effort to take the death penalty off the table. The defense argues that prosecutors haven’t met the criteria to justify the harsh punishment.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, claiming YNW Melly committed murder in a “cold, calculated and premeditated manner.” His defense took issue with the use of that description in a motion filed on Monday (February 7).
“This aggravating factor is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, is not capable of a constitutionally adequate narrowing construction and has been applied in an arbitrary and inconsistent manner,” the defense argued.
Prosecutors listed four aggravating factors in their notice to seek the death penalty. Four months ago, the defense says it submitted a mitigation package to dispute those factors being proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
YNW Melly’s legal team contends that even if the burden of proof was met, the death penalty still wouldn’t be appropriate in the case. They also say the mitigation package was supposed to be sent to a Death Penalty Review Committee for a final decision, but it still hadn’t been received as of February 3.
The defense doesn’t believe the mitigation package will be reviewed in time for the trial, which is scheduled to begin on March 7. They’ve asked the court to compel the state to send the package to the committee or drop the death penalty.
YNW Melly is facing two counts of first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing his friends Anthony Williams a.k.a. YNW Sakchaser and Christopher Thomas Jr. a.k.a. YNW Juvy in 2018.