UPDATE (Nov. 4):
YNW Melly‘s attorney has released the following statement to XXL about his recently filed lawsuit: “We are asking a Federal Judge to Order the immediate release of Jemell Demons (a.k.a. Melly) because the Broward County jail system has been violating his Constitutional Rights. The refusal to let Melly see his family and the interference on his legal representation violates the Constitution and cannot be allowed to stand and will not be allowed to stand.”
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office has also released a statement to XXL in response to the lawsuit.
“The Broward Sheriff’s Office does not generally comment on pending litigation,” the statement reads. “However, the jail does not utilize ‘solitary confinement.’ Rather, Mr. Demons has been placed on administrative segregation, which is a classification resulting in an alternate living assignment for an inmate whose placement in the general population poses a serious threat to the safety of staff or inmates, or life and property.”
ORIGINAL STORY (Nov. 4):
YNW Melly is suing the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida for cruel treatment and is seeking to be released immediately.
YNW Melly Sues Broward County Sheriff’s Office
On Nov. 2, Melly’s attorney Michael A. Pizzi filed the lawsuit in United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, XXL confirmed via court documents on Monday (Nov. 4).
“[YNW Melly] Jamell Demons seeks his immediate release because he is being illegally
detained under conditions that violate the First, Fifth, Sixth, Eight and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit reads. “Demons is a Black male whose current detention conditions shock the conscience and could not even be imagined in this day and age even in a third-world country that has no guard rails protecting human decency and dignity.”
The suit claims Melly has not been able to make phone calls for the past three years and has been subjected to “debilitating isolation.”
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
XXL has reached out to Melly’s attorney and the BSO for comment.
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YNW Melly’s Case Drags On
YNW Melly was initially arrested on Feb. 13, 2019, and charged with the 2018 murders of his friends Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams. After being denied bond, the case finally went to trial last summer before ending in a mistrial. Melly has been denied bond once again as he awaits his second trial, which isn’t slated to begin until September of 2025. The lead-up to the retrial has been moving at a snail’s pace. Most recently, Melly’s attorneys got a judge to address around 20 outstanding motions the defense team filed.
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