Actor JJ Velazquez acquitted of murder conviction after 24 years

Jon Adrian “JJ” Velazquez was finally confirmed.

The Singing Singing Actor and former wrongfully imprisoned inmate at Sing Sing Correctional Facility – where the film also stars Colman Domingowas shot to death — was acquitted of his murder conviction in court on Sept. 30, NBC New York reported.

Velazquez, 48, was accompanied by family and friends for his exoneration at a Manhattan courthouse, including his colleagues Singing Singing Actor Clarence Maclin and its director Greg Kwedar.

Since his wrongful conviction in 1998, Velazquez, who did not match the alleged killer's description and had phone records as an alibi, has maintained his innocence.

“I was kidnapped and enslaved by this country,” Velazquez said Sept. 30 outside the courthouse diversity. “This is not a celebration. This is an indictment of the system.”

E! News has reached out to Velazquez's attorneys but has not yet received a response.

In 2021, Velazquez was pardoned – or a pardon without full exoneration – by then-Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo after spending nearly 24 years behind bars at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.