Be a part of the movement with JJ4Justice!
Amplifying awareness to impact social equity, justice, and opportunity.
Meet Jon-adrian "JJ" Velazquez
Motivational Speaker
Compassionate Consultant
Motivational Speaker
JJ specializes in storytelling, which stems from his passion to turn trauma into triumph and inspire others to convert obstacles into opportunities. He moderates panels, facilitates workshops, and gives talks designed to educate, motivate, and incite meaningful change. JJ's messages are heartfelt and filled with empathy.
Media Expert
Compassionate Consultant
Motivational Speaker
JJ provides media platforms with valuable context and rare insight fueled by personal experiences that helped him accumulate a deep and diverse knowledge base of criminogenic behavior, mass incarceration, and wrongful convictions. Decades of unjust imprisonment have led to valuable lessons about life, humanity, and survival.
Compassionate Consultant
Compassionate Consultant
Compassionate Consultant
As a compassionate consultant committed to justice, public safety, and our youth, JJ provides clients with the information and tools required to understand the complexities of the criminal legal system and at-risk communities. JJ approaches his work ethically to ensure his knowledge and expertise create meaningful changes that impact communities for generations to come.
Authentic Actor
Community Organizer
Compassionate Consultant
As an authentic actor, JJ is able to captivate audiences with his genuine emotional depth and sincerity. As shown in the A24 film, Sing Sing starring Colman Domingo, JJ seamlessly immerses himself into his supporting role, bringing it to life with an unwavering commitment to his true self. JJ's talent lies in his ability to make audiences feel, believe, and empathize with the stories he tells.
Fashion Model
Community Organizer
Community Organizer
JJ is a male fashion model with a unique and inspiring story. Overcoming the challenges of a wrongful conviction, JJ has risen above adversity to become a powerful symbol of transformation and second chances. His striking presence in front of the camera serves as a testament to his resilience and determination. JJ embraces the power of reinvention and is a model for hope and redemption.
Community Organizer
Community Organizer
Community Organizer
JJ is a dedicated community organizer who channels his experiences into positive change. With a heart full of empathy and commitment to social justice, JJ works tirelessly to uplift his communities. Inviting people inside prisons on culture tours, he stands as a beacon of hope for humanity bringing people together, amplifying their voices, and creating a brighter future for all.
JJ in the media
Meet the Press: Dan Slepian and JJ Velazquez describe 20-year effort to free Velazquez from wrongful conviction
Dan Slepian and JJ Velazquez joined Kristen Welker for a “Meet the Moment” conversation to detail their 20+ year effort to free Velazquez from a wrongful murder criminal conviction. It’s a decades-long journey to freedom that was captured in Slepian’s new book, “The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice.”
NowThis: JJ and President Joe Biden discuss criminal legal reform
President Joe Biden apologizes to JJ "on behalf of all society" for his wrongful conviction.
MSNBC: 'Letters from Sing Sing' documents JJ's quest to clear his name
The podcast 'Letters from Sing Sing' details JJ's case that began with a letter sent to NBC News Investigative Producer Dan Slepian.
Meet the Press: NBC News Podcast 'Letters From Sing Sing' Investigates Murder Conviction
NBC News investigative reporter Dan Slepian and JJ talk about 'Letters from Sing Sing' podcast from NBC News Studios.
NowThis: One man's quest for an equitable criminal legal system
Punishment alone is not enough to rehabilitate.
NowThis: Jon-Adrian "JJ" Velazquez, Criminal Legal Reform
After being in prison for over 23 years released through executive clemency in 2021, JJ now works to reform the criminal legal system from the outside.
Incarcerated man’s decades-long journey to freedom chronicled in NBC News podcast
Lester Holt Reports 'Letters from Sing Sing': The 20-Year Search For The Truth
'Conviction' on Dateline NBC
NBC Dateline documentary on the story of Jon-Adrian "JJ" Velazquez
JJ Velazquez LIVES IN FAHERTY
JJ is what the FAHERTY brand calls a TRUE LEGEND.
Unjust & Unsolved with Maggie Freleng: JJ Velazquez on PEOPLE TV
JJ fights his conviction with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maggie Freleng on PEOPLE TV.
NowThis: JJ Velazquez's Fight for Freedom | Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom
JJ fights for his freedom in this short film by NowThis and Wrongful Conviction by Jason Flom.
NBC TODAY Show: How people at Sing Sing are redefining paying debt to society
At Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, incarcerated men are "redefining what it means to repay a debt to society" with peer counseling organization, Voices From Within, led by Executive Director JJ Velazquez.
Listen to jj's podcasts
'Letters from Sing Sing': 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalists
Wrongful Conviction Podcast with Jason Flom
Unjust & Unsolved with Maggie Freleng Podcast
Stand Together Podcast
We Are For Good Podcast
Rethink Community: The Podcast
SXSW EDU: Letters from Sing Sing: Redemption Through Education
A collection of JJ4Justice's most powerful Moments
About JJ4Justice
JJ’s Background
JJ’s career as a criminal legal reform activist began in 1998, when he was wrongfully convicted as the shooter in the murder of a retired police officer. He spent almost 24 years in NYS maximum security prisons assisting, educating, and mentoring incarcerated people and their families.
While incarcerated, he earned two degrees in behavioral science and became a certified paralegal. He was considered a “one-man innocent project,“ helping other wrongfully convicted individuals obtain freedom. JJ was an elected liaison between the prison population and administration, while working to help others obtain their college degrees in his capacity as a program assistant at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison. As a leading light at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, he organized a delegation of leaders, and implemented several positive programs including CHOICES, which has served hundreds of children impacted by crime and incarceration.
JJ now serves his community locally as the Co-founder and Executive Director of Voices from Within based in New York, and nationally as the Program Director at the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice.
JJ’s Philosophy
JJ believes that everyone has the potential to achieve greatness. By tapping into their inner strengths and passions, individuals can overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams. With JJ's guidance, people are empowered to take action and live their best lives.
JJ’s Mission
JJ’s mission is to expose the ever-present harm caused by the lack of opportunities in urban communities, mass incarceration, and wrongful convictions. His goal is to create opportunities and pave pathways for healthier and safer communities to thrive both inside and outside of prisons.