Actor JJ Velazquez Exonerated of Murder Conviction After 24 Years
Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez has finally been vindicated.
The Sing Sing actor and formerly wrongfully incarcerated inmate at Sing Sing correctional facility—where the movie, also starring Colman Domingo, was shot—was exonerated of his murder conviction in court on Sept. 30, NBC New York reported.
Velazquez, 48, was joined by family and friends for his exoneration at a Manhattan courthouse including fellow Sing Sing cast member Clarence Maclin and its director Greg Kwedar.
Since his wrongful conviction in 1998, Velazquez—who did not match the description of the suspected killer and had phone records as an alibi—has maintained his innocence.
“I was kidnapped by this country and enslaved,” Velazquez said outside the courthouse Sept. 30, per Variety. “This is not a celebration. This is an indictment of the system.”
E! News has reached out to attorneys for Velazquez, but has not yet heard back.
In 2021, Velazquez was granted clemency—or a pardon without full exoneration—by then-New York governor Andrew Cuomo after spending nearly 24 years behind bars at Sing Sing correctional facility in Ossining, New York.
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