Jon-Adrian "JJ" Velazquez formally exonerated after spending more than 20 years behind bars
NEW YORK - A man who spent more than two decades behind bars for a murder he didn't commit is officially a free man.
Jon-Adrian "JJ" Velazquez was granted clemency in 2021 and released.
Monday, he was exonerated. He was surrounded by supporters and others who were also wrongfully convicted, and freed.
Velazquez appeared as himself in the film "Sing Sing." He's also been the subject of podcasts, a book and documentary.
In 1998, retired NYPD Det. Albert Ward was running a gambling parlor in Harlem. He was shot and killed during a robbery.
Velazquez, a father of two, was convicted at age 22 after several witnesses who picked him out of a lineup and said he was the gunman. He spent nearly 24 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.
Since that time, Velazquez, his family and attorneys have been fighting his conviction. The Manhattan DA's office opposed two motions over the years to vacate, and both were denied by the court. In 2022, the DA's Post-Conviction Justice Unit opened a new investigation that found Velazquez's DNA was not on a betting slip touched by the suspect before Ward was shot.
Finally, on Monday, he was formally exonerated.
"This should have been done 10 years ago"
Attorneys who represented him for more than a decade say not only was his DNA not there, but eyewitnesses gave inconsistent descriptions, and phone records backed up his alibi.
"This should have been done 10 years ago," his attorney said.
While incarcerated at Sing-Sing correctional facility, he received two degrees, became a certified paralegal helping others wrongfully convicted, and mentored and educated others.
Outside the courthouse, there was lingering anger from his mother.
"He was kidnapped and taken from us," Maria Velazquez said. "He's finally free. We can finally breathe."
"The air feels different... I feel lighter"
"The air feels different. The people feel different as I walk. I feel lighter," Jon-Adrian Velazquez said. "It's disappointment that the system doesn't work. My father was a police officer. How is it I get charged with the murder of a retired police officer?"
As for what's next, he says he's now engaged.
"Re-establishing my ties with children. I now have three grandchildren," he said. "Using this platform to help other people."
He also had a message for every potential juror out there.
"If you're on a jury panel, please pay attention," he said.
Outside of court, he wondered whether he was only free because of all the attention he's received.
The Manhattan DA said he hopes "that today brings with it a new chapter for him," adding the type of DNA comparison used in his exoneration was not available at the time of Velazquez's trial.