Rapper YNW Melly’s lawyers are praying a federal judge will release him from prison before his double murder trial in Broward resumes.

YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons, is accused of shooting two friends in 2018. He has been in custody since his arrest in February 2019. His first murder trial in 2023 ended in a mistrial.

Now his lawyers are demanding that Demons should be released from custody because the conditions of his detention were unlawful.

A recent petition claims that Demons’ “current prison conditions shock the conscience.” It goes on to say that he “continues to face debilitating isolation that makes his conditions of detention cruel, unusual and unimaginable.”

The petition claims that Demons has not been allowed to make a single phone call or have a single visit with his family, including his mother, for over three years.

Last month, a judge ordered the Broward Sheriff’s Office to explain why Demons should not be released based on the petition’s allegations.

YNW Melly is seeking immediate release from prison in a new lawsuit accusing the Broward Sheriff’s Office of cruel treatment and violating his constitutional rights.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office now has until Dec. 16 to respond to the judge’s order after asking for more time for 10 days.

“The Broward Sheriff’s Office generally does not comment on pending litigation. Our Office of General Counsel will respond to the judge’s order,” BSO said in a statement. “Jamell Demons was subjected to administrative segregation. “It is a classification that results in an alternative residence being assigned to an inmate whose placement in the general population poses a serious threat to the safety of staff or inmates or to life and property.”

Michael Pizzi, an attorney for Demons, said the petition does not question the merits of the criminal charges against him. The aim is for the judge to review the conditions of his detention and consider ordering temporary release.

Demons’ second double murder trial is currently scheduled to begin in September 2025.