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The FOX True Crime Podcast w/ Emily Compagno

Actor Exonerated After Decades of Wrongful Imprisonment

The FOX True Crime Podcast w/ Emily Compagno

Fox News

True Crime

4.8708 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2024

⏱️ 68 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1998, JJ Velazquez was wrongfully convicted for the murder of a retired police officer. Eyewitnesses of the crime described the suspect as a black male with braids. JJ, a Latino man whose hair didn't match the description, was nonetheless made a suspect in the crime. JJ was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 25 years to life at Sing Sing. He spent 23 years, 8 months, and 11 days wrongly imprisoned. Activist and actor JJ Velazquez discusses the decades-long fight for freedom and what it meant for him to finally be exonerated this year.  Follow Emily on Instagram: @realemilycompagno If you have a story or topic we should feature on the FOX True Crime Podcast, send us an email at: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:33.5

On Monday, September 30th, 2024, John Adrian J.J. Velazquez exited a Manhattan court to a cheering and joyous crowd.

0:43.7

He was emotional and triumphant. On his head, he wore a ball cap that read, end of an error.

0:51.4

It took just four minutes for Judge Abraham Clot to grant a motion to overturn

0:56.0

JJ's second-degree murder conviction. That day marked the end of a decades-long battle for

1:01.6

JJ, determined to clear his name and to restore his dignity. J.J. had spent 23 years,

1:08.3

eight months, and 11 days wrongly imprisoned at Sing Sing

1:11.8

Correctional Facility for a crime he did not commit. But the fight for his exoneration

1:17.5

lasted nearly 27 years. September 30th, 2024, marked the end of an error and the start of a

1:25.6

new era for JJ, who continues to use his voice to advocate for

1:29.6

those wrongfully imprisoned today. I'm Emily Campano, and this is the Fox True Crime podcast. The

1:47.0

The The unthinkable happened to J.J. Velazquez.

2:10.3

In 1998, he was wrongfully convicted for the murder of retired NYPD officer Albert Ward.

2:17.8

On January 27th of that year, Officer Ward was shot and killed in an illegal gambling establishment that he ran in Harlem, New York.

2:25.9

Eyewitnesses to the crime described the suspect as a black male with braids.

2:31.1

JJ, a Latino male, whose hair did not match the description, was nonetheless made a suspect

2:37.5

in the murder.

2:42.4

J.J. believed in the justice system. His father was a police officer. And in an attempt to

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