JJ Velazquez was incarcerated for over 23 years for a murder he had nothing to do with.  In 2021, Governor Cuomo commuted Mr. Velazquez’s sentence, securing his freedom and release from state prison.  However, Mr. Velazquez was still wrongfully branded a convicted felon and continued to serve a parole sentence for a crime he did not commit.

Now, that injustice has been has come to an end and Mr. Velazquez has finally been exonerated.  Following a cooperative reinvestigation of Mr. Velazquez’s case by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Post-Conviction Justice Unit and Mr. Velazquez’s attorneys at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM), the Supreme Court granted a joint motion to vacate Mr. Velazquez’s conviction based on newly discovered DNA evidence, ending Mr. Velazquez’s quarter-century campaign for his exoneration.  Immediately after, the Court granted the District Attorney’s motion to dismiss the indictment and the case against Mr. Velazquez finally came to an end.

“The case against JJ was already compromised by key eyewitnesses who recanted after trial, faulty identification procedures, and a complete lack of physical evidence tying JJ to the crime,” said ECBAWM partner Earl S. Ward.  “Now, the exonerative DNA evidence discovered during our reinvestigation of JJ’s case mandates the vacatur of JJ’s conviction.  We are thrilled for JJ, who has fought for decades to undo this injustice and clear his name, and commend the Manhattan DA for joining JJ in correcting this injustice.”

ECBAWM lawyers Earl S. Ward, Jonathan S. Abady, Samuel Shapiro, and Nick Bourland represent Mr. Velazquez.

Press:
“New York judge exonerates man wrongfully convicted of murder,” NBC Nightly News
“New York’s ‘One-Man Innocence Project’ Is Finally Cleared Himself,” NYTimes
“‘Sing Sing’ Actor JJ Velazquez Exonerated of Wrongful Murder Conviction After Serving Nearly 24 Years in Prison,” Variety
“New York judge vacates conviction of man who spent 23 years in prison for murder he did not commit,” ABC7NY
“Actor JJ Velazquez Formally Cleared After Serving 23 Years For Murder,” Forbes