YNW Melly has issued a short but sweet message to his fans following the recent news that his double murder retrial has been delayed to 2024.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday (November 22), the Florida rapper shared a photo of himself from one of his court dates as he let fans know how much he appreciates them.
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“I want all my fans to know I love y’all the same way y’all love me,” he wrote with a heart emoji and a crossed fingers emoji.
You can view the post below:
Earlier this month, Judge John Murphy delayed opening statements for YNW Melly’s double murder retrial until February 5, 2024, ruling that prosecutors will need more time to prepare.
The motion filed by Assistant State Attorneys Alixandra Buckelew, Taylor Collins, and Justin Griffis claimed that their workload is heavier than they realized, in part due to the recusal of Kristina Bradley, and in part due to additional witness tampering charges brought against the “Murder on My Mind” rapper and his co-defendant, YNW Bortlen. As such, they argued, they needed more time to prepare — and Judge Murphy agreed.
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Unfortunately, however, this means that YNW Melly will have to remain behind bars until then — and his mother was devastated about the thought. “I’m sorry, kid [teary eyed emoji][broken heart emoji]” she wrote on her Instagram Stories in response.
The delay arrived just six days after the court granted the defense’s motion to have the jury struck down thanks to a legal misstep by the state — a move that was met with strong consternation by the prosecution.
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In a memorandum of law filed on November 8 and obtained by HipHopDX, Assistant State Attorney Alexandra Bucklew stated that she, on behalf of the state of Florida, objected to the dismissal of the jury during the voir dire process due to the defense’s claim of an improper line of questioning — a seemingly minor misstep that resulted in the entire jury being dismissed at the defense’s request, and a request which was agreed to by Judge John Murphy.
What’s more, Bucklew remarked that the state of Florida was afraid of being unduly prejudiced if, indeed, the defense continued to raise objections about the empaneled jurors.
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“The State fears that every time the State objects and the objection is sustained, the Defense will move to start over because it ‘affects their credibility with the jurors,’” she wrote in part.
Last month, Melly, his co-defendant YNW Bortlen and a third person, Terrence Mathis, were charged with directing the activities of a criminal gang and unlawful use of a two-way communication device, as well as solicitation and conspiracy to commit tampering.
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These are in addition to the original count of tampering with a witness in a capital felony that Melly (real name Jamell Demons) and Bortlen (real name Cortlen Henry) were charged with last month, relating to the 2018 murders of YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser.
YNW Melly is accused of conspiring with YNW Bortlen in October 2018 to kill their two friends, YNW Juvy (Christopher Thomas Jr.) and YNW Sakchaser (Anthony Williams), and stage their deaths as a drive-by shooting.
If YNW Melly is convicted, he could face the death penalty.
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