After serving nearly 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, “Sing Sing” actor Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez has been exonerated of his wrongful murder conviction.
Velazquez held back tears, pounded his chest and pumped his fist as he hugged friends and family after he was officially cleared by the judge in a downtown Manhattan courthouse Monday morning.
Velazquez 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. Featuring an ensemble cast of formerly incarcerated actors, “Sing Sing” takes place at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, which is where Velazquez was falsely imprisoned.
Among those at the court showing support for Velazquez were “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. Several A24 staffers were also in attendance. As Velazquez made his way to the elevators, the crowd cheered for him, waved Puerto Rican flags and chanted, “¡Si se puede!”
Leaving the courthouse, Velazquez, wearing a hat that reads, “End of an Error,” was swarmed by press. After making brief remarks, he sat down at a nearby park for an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt.
Velazquez lamented not being able to be an active father in his children’s lives. “I was kidnapped by this country and enslaved,” he said, detailing some of the horrors of being imprisoned. He added, “This is not a celebration. This is an indictment of the system.”
In 1998, Velazquez 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 Velazquez’s case that started in 2002 and lasted more than a decade. The resulting 2012 broadcast introduced new evidence in Velazquez’s favor and sparked a review by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which ultimately decided to let the conviction stand.
Nearly a decade later, on Aug. 17, 2021, Velazquez was granted executive clemency by then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. On Sept. 9, 2021, Velazquez 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 Velazquez on “behalf of all society” for his wrongful conviction. But at the time, Velazquez still needed to obtain a travel pass from a parole officer to sit down with the president. Velazquez told Variety ahead of the exoneration that it will finally remove the “scarlet letter” that was put on his chest. “It’s a lot deeper than discrimination. It comes down to diminishing a person’s human dignity. I’m getting a part of my dignity back,” Velazquez said.
Still, he added, “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.” Velazquez said that while Biden’s apology “didn’t change my lifestyle,” even a simple “sorry” from the government after a wrongful conviction is extremely rare.
Velazquez is a criminal legal reform activist who is a founding member of Voices From Within, an education initiative that addresses the epidemic of crime and incarceration directly through the voices of incarcerated people.
He began filming “Sing Sing” less than a year after he was released from the titular prison, calling the project “one of the most important things I’ve done in my life.” Based on a true story, the film follows John “Divine G” Whitfield (played by Domingo), a man who is imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he did not commit. He finds purpose, along with a group of other incarcerated men, through the prison’s Rehabilitation Through the Arts program.
“Sing Sing” operated on a community-based financial model, meaning each member of the cast and crew were paid the same rate, and they have all shared in the upside of the film’s success.
In a joint statement to Variety, “Sing Sing” producers Kwedar, Monique Walton and Clint Bentley said Velazquez’s 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.”
In addition to his activism, Velazquez said he hopes to do more acting. “To know that you can make money and still have fun, and be surrounded by great people,” Velazquez said, “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.”
