‘Sing Sing’ actor exonerated of murder after nearly 24 years in prison

NEW YORK (AP) — After serving nearly 24 years in prison before being granted clemency and starring in last year’s movie “ Sing Sing,” Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez has officially been exonerated of a murder prosecutors now say he didn’t commit.

A Manhattan judge on Monday vacated the 48-year-old’s wrongful conviction in the killing of retired New York City police officer Albert Ward during a robbery in 1998, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office announced.

The order came after Bragg’s office joined in Velazquez’s request to vacate the conviction.

“This isn’t a celebration. This is an indictment of the system,” Velazquez said outside the courthouse, according to media reports. He wore a cap with the phrase “End of an Error” printed on it.

Prosecutors, in filings ahead of Monday’s hearing, cited newly discovered DNA evidence that they argued cleared Velazquez’s name.

“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 in a statement.

Velazquez appeared as himself in “Sing Sing,” a film starring other former inmates and actor Colman Domingo as an incarcerated man who helps lead a theater program at the nearly two century old maximum-security prison 30 miles (48 kilometers) upriver from New York City.

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Velazquez had been sentenced to 25 years to life at Sing Sing before then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted him early release in 2021.

Prosecutors say two people had been robbing an underground gambling parlor in Harlem on Jan. 27, 1998 when Ward pulled out a gun. A struggle ensued and the 59-year-old was shot and killed by one of the robbers.

Velazquez was convicted in 1999 in a case that largely hinged on four eyewitness accounts.

But Velazquez and his mother maintained he was on the phone with her from his Bronx home at the time of the shooting.

Two of the witnesses recanted their statements identifying Velazquez, although one would later change his mind again.

Bragg’s office reopened the case in 2022 and had the medical examiner’s office compare Velazquez’s DNA to a betting slip handled by the suspect.

The DNA comparison — which was not available at the time of his trial — found that Velazquez’s DNA wasn’t on the slip.

Prosecutors concluded that the results of the DNA testing could have impacted the jury’s decision. They also noted that no physical evidence connected Velazquez to the crime, and that eyewitnesses provided inconsistent statements.

Velazquez’s efforts to get his conviction tossed were boosted by “West Wing” and “Apocalypse Now” star Martin Sheen, who held a press conference spotlighting the case in 2011. NBC’s “Dateline” also examined it in 2012.

Velazquez earned a bachelor’s degree, worked as a teaching fellow for a Columbia University professor and enlisted fellow inmates in launching gun violence prevention, youth mentorship and other programs while behind bars. He has continued the work since his release.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.