YNW Melly shakes his head in disbelief after judge says he has been locked up for 2159 days in prison

The retrial of YNW Melly, which was scheduled to begin on Monday, January 6, has been pushed ahead once again. According to a HotNewHipHop article published yesterday, the hearing was postponed as Melly's attorney - Ravon Liberty - is currently being investigated for alleged witness tampering.

In light of the ongoing investigation, other lawyers have claimed that the Suicidal rapper needs more information to decide whether or not he still wants Liberty to be handling his case.

A video clip uploaded on X on Monday by a user named @mymixtapez recorded the courtroom proceedings of the retrial, in which the judge said:

"Mr. Demmons (Melly's original name) has to make an informed decision about who he wants as lawyers. He's now been sitting in our jail for 2,519 days."

As the camera was focused on YNW Melly's face following the statement, he appeared to be shaking his head, allegedly in disbelief. The video has since gone viral, amassing over three million views, 34K likes, and 1.8K retweets.

Netizens have been reacting to the tweet, questioning the country's legal system.

"I say this whether the person has been falsely accused or their guilt is clear without a shadow of a doubt - it's WRONG that our legal system can leave anyone waiting years for a trial." - commented an X user.

"2,159 days to make a decision bro this system is outdated like my grandma need a software update why we still abide by rules made when they was riding horses around town," replied another.

It has been six years since YNW Melly (legally named Jamell Demmons) and YNW Bortlen (legally named Cortlen Mallik Henry) were arrested in February 2019, and charged with murdering two of their friends.

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YNW Melly's attorney filed a lawsuit to get him released in November 2024

The news about the further postponement of YNW Melly's retrial comes weeks after one of the No Heart rapper's attorneys - Michael A. Pizzy Jr. - filed a 12-pages-long lawsuit against the Broward Sheriff's Office, HotNewHipHop reports.

Per the lawsuit, Melly reportedly faced "inhumane conditions" in prison, including solitary confinement and communication restrictions. The lawsuit reads:

"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."

It continues:

"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."

The attorney's demand was that YNW Melly be released from prison immediately, which was apparently not accepted in the court.

The incident in relation to which Melly and his friend were arrested took place in October 2018, when both of them, in addition to other fellow rappers - YNW Juvy (legally named Christopher Thomas Jr.) and YNW Sakchaser (Anthony D'Andre Williams) - were all in a recording studio.

The four were going to appear in a music video by another rapper the next day. However, YNW Sakchaser and Juvy were shot in the studio itself, from where they were taken to hospital but couldn't survive their gunshot wounds.

YNW Melly and YNW Bortlen pleaded not guilty to the murder charges placed on them, alleging that a drive-by shooter had shot their fellow rappers instead.

The trial of the case began in June 2023, ending in a mistrial. In July 2024, a new judge - Judge Martin Fein - preceded the case, announcing September 10, 2025, as the new date for the upcoming retrial.

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YNW Melly is currently being held at the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.