YNW Melly has had his first double murder trial declared a mistrial — but the rapper’s mother, Jamie King, claims that the majority of the jury in his case thought her son was innocent.
At least that’s what she claimed in her Instagram stories on Saturday (July 22). According to King, nine of the 12 jurors in the “Murder on My Mind” rapper’s trial said he was not guilty.
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She also claimed that YNW Melly — who was accused of killing his two friends, Anthony D’Andre Williams (YNW Sakchaser) and Christopher Jermaine Thomas Jr. (YNW Juvy), in October 2018 and attempting to stage their deaths as a drive-by shooting — would soon be released from jail.
“9 not guilty 3 guilty it was a mistrial my son will be home God is still working [praying hands emoji] [finger pointing up emoji],” she wrote.
Check out her comments below.
YNW Melly deemed not guilty by majority of murder trial jury, claims his mother https://t.co/52WCdDsvQrpic.twitter.com/Z5WEoahPof
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) July 23, 2023
Jamie King is referring to the jury being deadlocked — which is one that cannot reach a verdict by the required voting margin despite their best efforts.
According to Cornell University School of Law, judges will make every effort to avoid a deadlocked jury, often going so far as to demand what’s known as a “dynamite charge” to force the jury to come to a verdict.
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There is no limit to how long a jury can deliberate for in any state of the union, but a mistrial will be declared at some point if all efforts to reach a decision are in vain.
There are two phases to a first-degree murder trial — like YNW Melly’s trial — in the state of Florida. The first phase is the trial phase and requires a unanimous guilty conviction before it can be referred to the penalty phase. In the penalty phase, eight or more jurors must find in favor of the death penalty in order for the sentence to be handed down.
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But even then, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a death sentence is not guaranteed. The jury must unanimously find that “at least one aggravating factor in the statute exists in the case. Otherwise, the defendant is not eligible for the death penalty,” reports the Center.
What’s more, even if a jury does recommend the death penalty, it must be approved by a judge before the death sentence is finally imposed.
It is important to note, however, that despite the mistrial, YNW Melly may be retried for the double murder.
According to the Fully Informed Jury Association, the defendant (in this case, YNW Melly) is neither acquitted nor convicted in the event of a mistrial. Rather, in the eyes of the law, a mistrial means that the trial “never happened.”
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Therefore, Fifth Amendment protections — which include the double jeopardy clause that prevents defendants from being retried for the same crime — do not apply.
“If a mistrial occurs due to a hung jury, the prosecutor may decide to retry the case. A judge may decide to disallow this in some cases, but the prosecutor is usually allowed to proceed,” reports the Fully Informed Jury Association.
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While YNW Melly may go free as a result of this mistrial, it is not clear whether his attorney has made this type of a motion to the court, as of this writing.
