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Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez has been exonerated. The 48-year-old Sing Sing actor, who served nearly 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, was exonerated of his wrongful murder conviction on Monday morning (September 30) in a Manhattan courthouse in New York City. The actor “held back tears, pounded his chest and pumped his fist as he hugged friends and family,” via Variety, and “hugged his mother as she wept and cried out, ’27 years!’ in reference to how long it has almost been since Velazquez was first convicted.” He co-stars with Colman Domingo in the A24 prison drama that follows a group of incarcerated men who find purpose in acting in theater productions. The ensemble features formerly incarcerated actors, and takes place at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where he was falsely imprisoned. Sing Sing star Clarence Maclin, director Greg Kwedar and Brent Buell, the playwright and theater instructor who is played by Paul Raci in the film, were in attendance at the hearing. The crowd reportedly cheered for him, waved Puerto Rican flags and chanted, “¡Sí se puede!” “I was kidnapped by this country and enslaved,” he said to NBC’s Lester Holt, adding: “This is not a celebration. This is an indictment of the system.” Keep reading to find out more… In 1998, he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a retired New York police officer. He was sentenced to 25 years to life, despite the fact that he did not match the suspect description and had an alibi corroborated by phone records. Dateline NBC conducted an investigation into the case that started in 2002 and lasted over a decade. The 2012 broadcast introduced new evidence, resulting in a review by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which ultimately decided to let the conviction stand. Just under a decade later, in August of 2021, JJ was granted executive clemency by then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. On September 9, 2021, he was released from the Sing Sing prison after 23 years, eight months and seven days of imprisonment. In October 2022, during a criminal legal reform forum, Joe Biden apologized to JJ on “behalf of all society” for his wrongful conviction. “There’s nothing that they can do to give me back the 24 years I lost, and all of the tribulations to incur as a result. There’s a spirit of vindication, but there’s still a lot of trauma that’s unaddressed — that the system refuses to address.” he said to Variety, adding that while Biden’s apology “didn’t change my lifestyle,” even a simple “sorry” from the government after a wrongful conviction is extremely rare. In a joint statement to Variety, Sing Sing producers said the exoneration is “yet another step in his powerful journey. A moment he will no doubt use for the betterment of others, and to advocate for those still behind the walls. Because that’s just who he is.” His story will further be explored in the upcoming MSNBC docuseries The Sing Sing Chronicles, directed by Dawn Porter. Beyond activism work, JJ said he hopes to do more acting. “To know that you can make money and still have fun, and be surrounded by great people. I’m doing what I’m passionate about. What I always said I was going to do when I was inside, I’m actually doing now,” he said. Watch the Sing Sing trailer…
