YNW Melly’s protracted murder case has experienced another significant turn as his primary defense lawyer, Raven Liberty, is being investigated for witness tampering.
The controversial rapper is currently awaiting retrial on double murder charges and must now decide on his legal team’s future as Liberty is under investigation for potentially tampering with witnesses.
She has not yet faced any charges nor provided a statement regarding the matter, but the inquiry is connected to Melly’s own tampering charge from 2023.
The remainder of the rapper’s defense team has expressed that they require additional details about the investigation before determining their next steps.
They noted that Melly hasn’t met Liberty in person for about a year.
YNW Melly (actual name Jamell Demons) must choose whether to retain Liberty in his defense, with potential modifications likely to postpone the retrial, presently set to start in September.
During a court session on Monday (January 6), the judge remarked that Melly has spent more than six years in jail without a conviction, while the rapper’s response was captured on the courtroom camera.
The 25-year-old was observed humorously laughing at the situation and remarked, “Damn.”
Melly has been trying to secure his release from jail as he awaits a retrial.
He recently filed a lawsuit against Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony and his department, claiming that he must be released from custody at once because of the “cruel” conditions he is enduring.
“Demons is a Black male whose present detention conditions appall the conscience and are unimaginable today, even in a developing nation with no safeguards for human decency and dignity,” the complaint states.
“For more than three years, Petitioner Jamell Demons has been denied the opportunity to make any phone calls or have any visits with his family or anyone from the outside, which includes not seeing or talking to his own mother in over three years!!!”
“Demons has experienced and still faces a level of crippling isolation that makes his incarceration conditions cruel, unusual, and unbelievable in a civilized society upheld by Constitutional protections.”
The rapper faces allegations of killing two childhood friends, Chris “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams, in 2018 and staging the incident to resemble a drive-by shooting.
The initial trial concluded with the jury failing to deliver a verdict.
