A New York judge on Monday vacated the conviction of JJ Velazquez, who was falsely convicted of the 1998 murder of a retired police detective and has served 20 years in jail.
Velazquez is officially free with a criminal record that has been wiped clean, according to People. Velazquez was falsely convicted of the 1998 murder of Albert Ward, a retired police detective, in New York City. Prosecutors said newly found DNA evidence eventually pointed to another person as the killer. During a hearing Monday, Judge Abraham Clott granted a motion filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to vacate Velazquez’s conviction and dismiss the original indictment.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MAY 18: (L-R) Sean “Dino” Johnson, John “Divine” Whitfield, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez, Greg Kwedar, Sean San Jose, and Clint Bentley attend a screening of Sing Sing at SIFF Cinema Downtown during the Seattle International Film Festival on May 18, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images)
“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, according to People.
“I am grateful to our Post-Conviction Justice Unit for its commitment to impartially uncovering the facts and evidence in this case.”
Velazquez’s sentence was commuted in 2021 by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, after he was wrongfully incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility for 23 years. His case became a high-profile one after receiving attention and support from the likes of Martin Sheen and Alfre Woodard, among others. He also received a presidential apology from Joe Biden, but continued to live in the shadows of the conviction that stained his record – until this hearing.
Velazquez appeared as himself in the film “Sing Sing,” after his release from prison. His fellow “Sing Sing” co-star Clarence Maclin, director Greg Kwedar, and playwright Brent Buell were all in attendance at the hearing as Velazaquez fought back tears.
Velazquez’s co-star in the film Colman Domingo issued a statement saying, “this moves me to tears. It is his commitment to his own justice that justice was finally served. It came late but it came and JJ can lovingly, joyfully, purposefully live again.”
“JJ is such an extraordinary human that advocates for others passionately and lovingly,” Domingo’s statement continued, according to People.
“It was my hope with our film Sing Sing that we humanize these incarcerated men and women and tell their stories and hopefully we change the hearts of people to see them as people. There are many JJ’s still fighting for their liberation of being wrongfully convicted and serving time.”
Velazquez was found guilty after the Jan. 27, 1998 incident in which two armed suspects robbed a gambling parlor in Harlem. Ward, the retired detective, pulled a gun and struggled with one of the armed robbers that called himself Tee, was fatally shot.(RELATED: Former ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer Pleads Not Guilty To Manslaughter)
The Manhattan D.A.’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit reopened an investigation into the murder in 2022 and the medical examiner’s discovered that Velazquez’s DNA was not found on a betting slip that had been handled by Tee, according to People.
