Source: @abennettphoto / Amy Beth Bennett
Looks like YNW Melly can count his lucky stars as the “Murder On My Mind” rapper just avoided not only a lengthy prison sentence, but even the death penalty as a jury couldn’t come to an agreement over the murder charges levied against him.
According to NBC Miami, Judge John Murphy was forced to declare a mistrial in the double-murder case against Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, after a jury of his peers failed to reach a unanimous decision. Charged with the 2018 murders of 21-year-old Anthony Williams and 19-year-old Christopher Thomas in Miramar, Melly stood trial for almost three weeks, but after two days of deliberations, the case ended with a hung jury.
NBC Miami reports:
The jury did ask the state and the judge if they could review some of the evidence again but after a few hours and a lunch recess, the jury was unable to find a decision, forcing the judge to order a mistrial.
According to Cornell Law School, A mistrial occurs when a jury is unable to reach a verdict and there must be a new trial with a new jury or there is a serious procedural error or misconduct that would result in an unfair trial, and the judge adjourns the case without a decision on the merits and awards a new trial.
“Our system doesn’t work without getting people from the community to come in here and listen to the facts of the case and make decisions,” Murphy said.
Demons was all smiles after the judge sent the jury home. Before the jurors left, Murphy addressed them.
“You gave us the time and you put your best effort to see if you could bring this case to a resolution, unfortunately, it wasn’t able to happen but I want to thank you again for your time and consideration of the case,” Murphy said.
Demons is a helluva last name to have during a double-murder trial. Just sayin’.
Prosecutors alleged that YNW Melly and Cortland Henry aka YNW Bortlen were riding in a jeep on Oct. 26, 2018 when Melly opened fire on both Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas, killing them both. Melly was facing the death penalty over the allegations but has seemingly avoided such a fate. Henry is set to stand trial separately as an accomplice in the shooting later this year.
Though prosecutors say the shooting was gang related, Melly’s defense attorney’s say that wasn’t the case as Melly and the victims were “close friends.” With Melly seemingly out the woods, the defense and state are set to return on Friday (July 28), to discuss what next steps will be taken.
Should be interesting to see what kind of agreement is reached now that a jury couldn’t convict.
What do y’all think of YNW Melly’s hung jury? Let us know in the comments section below.
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