THE MIKAL SHOW | YMW MELLY WILL WALK, ULTIMATELY

Judge John Murphy had twice asked the jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked. But the jury came back a third time without a different result.

In July 2022, a Florida judge removed the death penalty as a possible sentence option for Melly. The rapper remains behind bars on double homicide charges.

Melly and Bortlen are accused of killing victims Christopher “YNW Juvy” Thomas and Anthony “YNW Sakchaser” Williams and then attempting to stage the crime scene to resemble a drive-by shooting. Melly pled not guilty to the first-degree murder charges in March 2019. He later addressed his arrest in a since-deleted Instagram post that same year.

According to prosecutors, Ballistics tests show the victims were shot from inside the Jeep. But defense lawyers point to the fact that a gun was never recovered and assert Melly had no apparent motive for the crime.