'Sing Sing’ Actor JJ Velazquez Exonerated After 24 Years for Wrongful Murder Conviction: ‘This Is Not a Celebration'
A New York man has been exonerated after serving 24 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction.
On Monday morning, a Manhattan judge cleared Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez of charges stemming from a 1998 case, in which he was accused of killing a retired New York police officer, according to Variety.
The 48-year-old was granted clemency and released from prison in Aug. 2021 by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and subsequently released in Sept. 2021 after serving 23 years, eight months, and seven days in Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.
Following his pardon, Velazquez starred in A24 ’s prison drama, Sing Sing, which focuses on a group of incarcerated men who find their calling through acting. The drama takes place in the facility from which it is named.
“I was kidnapped by this country and enslaved,” JJ told NBC following his exoneration. “This is not a celebration. This is an indictment of the system.”
After being convicted of murder in 1998, Velazquez was sentenced to 25 years to life, even though he had an alibi substantiated by phone records and he didn’t look like the suspect's description. Dateline NBC launched a probe into his case in 2002; after investigating for over 10 years, the show turned up new evidence that spoke to Velazquez’s innocence. This prompted a review from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which determined that Velazquez was still guilty.
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In 2021, Cuomo granted Velazquez clemency. Within the year, JJ began filming Sing Sing, which he called “one of the most important things I’ve done in my life,” per Variety. The film is based on a true story and stars Colman Domingo as John “Divine G” Whitfield who is wrongfully incarcerated. He and a handful of other inmates find their purpose through the prison’s Rehabilitation Through the Arts program.
In addition to Sing Sing, Velazquez will also tell his story on MSNBC’s forthcoming docuseries, The Sing Sing Chronicles.