YNW Melly Seeking Immediate Release Over ‘Debilitating’ Jail Conditions

YNW Melly Demands Immediate Release Due To Cruel Jail Conditions

For years now, YNW Melly, real name Jamell Maurice Demons, has been behind bars awaiting his retrial, but in a dramatic twist of events, his legal team is now pushing for him to be released immediately.

The incarcerated rapper’s attorney Michael A. Pizzi Jr. filed a 12-page lawsuit against the Brown Sheriff’s Office earlier this week in which he alleges that the rapper is being kept in inhumane conditions.

According to AllHipHop, the allegations in the lawsuit includes being held in solitary confinement for roughly three years without being allowed any visits or phone calls. The petition describes the conditions that the rapper is being kept in as allegedly cruel and unusual.

Per Pizzi Jr., they violate Maurice’s first, fifth, sixth, eighth, and fourteenth amendment rights. He also alleges that the rapper’s attorneys have had issues communicating with him as they’ve been denied entry, being made to wait for several hours, and more.

An incident that took place in April of 2022 was also detailed in the petition, when another inmate allegedly falsely accused Maurice of planning to escape. This false accusation allegedly resulted in Melly getting hit with even more communication restrictions and a full shakedown of his cell.

“These restrictions are not related to any legitimate security concerns and are instead punitive measures designed to deteriorate Melly’s mental health and impede his ability to prepare for his trial. No non-black inmates are subjected to such punitive restrictions,” ​Pizzi Jr. claims.

“The emotional and psychological toll of his prolonged isolation is enormous. The ongoing interference with his right to counsel is a blatant violation of his constitutional rights,” he added.

The 25-year-old’s retrial is currently scheduled to begin on September 10, 2025.