A New York judge on Monday formally vacated the homicide conviction of a man incarcerated for almost 24 years before starring in the award-winning movie Sing Sing about the rehabilitative effects of a prison arts program.
Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez fought back tears as he hugged friends and family outside the Manhattan district courtroom where he was exonerated for the 1998 murder of a retired policeman during an armed robbery at an illegal gambling den in Harlem.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment and became immersed in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the New York state maximum security prison in Ossining – colloquially known as Sing Sing, which became the focus of director Greg Kwedar’s 2023 film of the same name.
Velazquez, who was freed in September 2021 after being granted clemency by newly discovered DNA evidence, was among several former inmates who starred in the movie alongside professional actors. It was warmly received on its release this summer, has won a number of awards and has been tipped to feature in next year’s Oscars nominations.
The 48-year-old Velazquez, who received a presidential apology in 2022 from Joe Biden for his wrongful conviction, has also become a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform. He founded an educational initiative for inmates called Voices From Within during his incarceration and has acted as a motivational speaker since his release through his social justice organization, JJ4Justice.
“Who am I? I’m a very lucky man. I’m lucky that so many people believed in me,” Velasquez said outside the courtroom on Monday, as reported by New York’s ABC7 news channel.
In a statement, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, said his office teamed with Velazquez’s attorneys to file the application to district court judge Abraham Clott to vacate the conviction.
“JJ Velazquez has lived in the shadow of his conviction for more than 25 years, and I hope that today brings with it a new chapter for him,” Bragg said.
“I am grateful to our Post-Conviction Justice Unit (PCJU) for its commitment to impartially uncovering the facts and evidence in this case.”
The campaign to free Velazquez gathered pace in 2002 when a Dateline NBC investigation led by producer Dan Slepian focused on evidence that the then 22-year-old was wrongly identified as one of two perpetrators of the deadly robbery at the center of the case.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office opposed two motions by Velazquez to vacate the conviction – in 2014 and 2018 – but reopened its investigation in 2022 through its newly formed post-conviction investigative unit.
It found that DNA found on a betting slip handled by the person who shot and killed the retired police detective, Albert Ward, during a struggle was not a match to Velazquez. The testing was not available at the time of his trial.
“Since the creation of the unit in 2022, we have vacated 10 convictions through reinvestigations, and 500 more related to law enforcement members convicted of misconduct,” Bragg said.
“These convictions have deep consequences for individuals and their loved ones, compromise public safety, and undermine trust in the criminal justice system, which is why this work is of the utmost importance to me. We will continue to review these types of cases with the thoroughness and fairness they require.”
Kwedar, the Sing Sing writer and co-producer, joined actor Clarence Maclin and others involved in the movie at the courthouse on Monday to support Velazquez, Variety reported.
