Jon-Adrian Velazquez formally exonerated after 23 years in prison for murder he didn't commit

NEW YORK - Emotions ran high inside a Manhattan courtroom on Monday as Jon-Adrian "JJ" Velazquez officially had his conviction vacated after serving more than 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. 

"This is what they did to us. They made us suffer. But it's over today!" Velazquez's mother said.

Velazquez, now 47, was wrongfully convicted of a 1998 murder during a robbery at an underground gambling parlor in Harlem. The victim, a retired NYPD detective, was shot and killed during the crime. 

Velazquez was 22 at the time of his arrest and subsequent conviction in 1999. However, newly discovered DNA evidence proved he was not involved in the crime.

The key piece of evidence that helped clear Velazquez’s name was a betting slip found at the crime scene, which bore the killer’s DNA. Modern testing, which wasn’t available at the time of his trial, showed the DNA did not match Velazquez.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a statement after Velazquez's exoneration, saying "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."

Velazquez, who celebrated the decision with his mother and two sons, was released from prison in 2021. 

"We should not have a system where it is so much easier to imprison the poor than it is to fre the innocent," Velazquez said after the decision. 

While incarcerated, Velazquez earned a college degree and says he remains committed to advocating for justice reform, saying his story is not the norm.

"I am a man who is free only because of a documentary, several podcasts, a movie and a book," Velazquez said.