Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez has been the victim of injustice. He was imprisoned for over two decades for a crime he didn’t commit. It was on Monday that justice prevailed and the Sing Sing actor was finally exonerated from the wrongful murder conviction of a retired New York police officer. Although he did not match the suspect’s description and he had an alibi corroborated by phone records, JJ Velazquez was sentenced to 25 years to life at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. It was Monday that he finally got to celebrate this wonderful news.
The Reason Behind JJ Velazquez’s Incarceration
On January 27, 1998, two individuals robbed a gambling parlor on Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem. During this robbery, retired police detective Albert Ward pulled out his gun and a struggle ensued. One of the robbers, who identified himself as “Tee,” eventually shot Ward and ended up killing him. Velazques was wrongfully convicted of his murder and did his time at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, despite him not matching the suspect’s description and having an alibi. It wasn’t until years later that prosecutors revealed that there was newly found DNA evidence (a betting slip which was handled by “Tee”) that pointed to another person as the killer, which, in turn, led to his freedom after over two decades.
Sing Sing Actor’s Release and Projects
On August 17, 2021, the Sing Sing actor was granted executive clemency by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. On Sept. 9, 2021, Velazquez was released after 23 years, eight months and seven days of imprisonment. In addition, President Joe Biden apologized to Velazquez in October 2022 during a criminal legal reform forum on “behalf of all society” for his wrongful conviction.
Now, he is exonerated of his wrongful murder conviction and his slate is wiped clean. Outside the courthouse, he wore a baseball cap that said “End of an Error,” and expressed how he’s lucky that people believed in him. Despite his happiness with the exoneration, he lost 24 years of his life which left him trauma that the system failed to address.
The 48-year-old appeared as himself in the A24 film Sing Sing, a story based on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts, a theater program offered at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility. He made his appearance less than a year after his release from prison. The show talks about a man who was also wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. He finds purpose, along with other fellow inmates, through the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. Velazquez is also a criminal legal reform activist now. He is a founding member of Voices From Within, an education initiative that addresses the crime and incarceration epidemic directly through the voices of incarcerated people.
Final Thoughts
They always say that justice delayed is justice denied but in JJ Velazquez’s case, he is trying to create rainbows out of thunderstorms. Now that he is cleared of his wrongful murder conviction, it feels like he is rebirthed again with a newly-developed passion and he can pursue whatever he wants, such as acting and making money while he is having fun, as he said.
Yes, time lost can never be compensated and the loss of over 20 years is not something to be reckoned with, but on the other hand, no one can change what’s gone. People only have control over their present and that is what Velazquez has been trying to do ever since his release, take control of his present.
