Recently, YNW Melly's attorney Michael A. Pizzi Jr. filed a 12-page lawsuit against the Broward Sheriff's Office. In it, he alleges that his client is being kept in inhumane conditions, including solitary confinement for around three years with no visits or phone calls. Allegedly, Melly's lawyers have also struggled to communicate with him, been denied entry to the prison, and more. Pizzi Jr. alleges that all of this violates Melly's first, fifth, sixth, eighth, and fourteenth amendment rights.
"We are asking a Federal Judge to Order the immediate release of Jemell Demons (a.k.a. Melly) because the Broward County jail system has been violating his Constitutional Rights," Pizzi Jr. told XXL of the lawsuit. "The refusal to let Melly see his family and the interference on his legal representation violates the Constitution and cannot be allowed to stand and will not be allowed to stand." Now, according to the outlet, Judge Melissa Damian has responded to the lawsuit.
Broward County Sheriff's Office Has Until December 6 To Prove Their Case
"On or before December 6, 2024, the Respondents shall file a memorandum of fact and law to show cause why this Petition should not be granted, and shall file therewith all documents and transcripts necessary for the resolution of this Petition," her ruling reads. If the response is not submitted by December 6, Melly could reportedly be released on bond ahead of his upcoming retrial. If they do respond, Melly has two weeks to fire back.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office shared a statement with XXL about the lawsuit, defending themselves. "The Broward Sheriff’s Office does not generally comment on pending litigation," it begins. "However, the jail does not utilize 'solitary confinement.' Rather, Mr. Demons has been placed on administrative segregation, which is a classification resulting in an alternate living assignment for an inmate whose placement in the general population poses a serious threat to the safety of staff or inmates, or life and property."
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