YNW Melly is facing the threat of the death penalty once again.
According to court documents obtained by Pitchfork, an appellate court judge said prosecutors can seek the death penalty against YNW Melly. The judge overruled a lower court, which took the death penalty off the table in YNW Melly’s murder case.
Earlier this year, a lower court judge determined prosecutors failed to properly notify YNW Melly and his legal team about the intent to seek the death penalty. But a Florida appeals court disagreed.
“We find that the state complied with its statutory obligations when it filed its notice of intent to seek the death penalty within 45 days of arraignment,” the appellate court judge wrote. “The fact that the state filed a superseding indictment, requiring a second arraignment, does not vitiate the already filed and timely notice of intent. Notice is notice. The superseding indictment was clearly a continuation of the original indictment.”
The judge continued, “The state did not nolle prosse the original indictment, nor did it add aggravating factors to the required notice seeking the death penalty. We find the trial court erred by precluding the state from seeking the death penalty, and thus, grant the writ of prohibition.”
Florida’s Supreme Court may have the final say on the matter. The appellate court judge deemed the death penalty debate in YNW Melly’s case to be a question of “great public importance” for the Florida Supreme Court.
YNW Melly awaits trial after pleading not guilty to first-degree murder charges. Prosecutors accuse him of killing his friends YNW Juvy a.k.a. Christopher Thomas Jr. and YNW Sakchaser a.k.a. Anthony Williams in 2018.