Jelly Roll, whose actual title is Jason DeFord, has been granted a full pardon by Tennessee Governor Invoice Lee. This pardon represents formal forgiveness from the state for 2 felony convictions in Davidson County, Tennessee, which came about when he was convicted of theft as a youngster and later, convicted of possession with intent to promote cocaine whereas on parole.
Gov. Lee introduced on December 18 that he was granting pardons to 33 people, with Jelly Roll amongst these recipients. As Gov. Lee said, “It was evident to me that this can be a man who ought to get a pardon.” He additionally made it clear that Jelly Roll didn’t obtain particular therapy on account of his superstar standing, saying “he can be handled the identical as each single person who asks for clemency.”
The Tennessee Board of Parole really useful Jelly Roll’s pardon earlier this 12 months, citing the transformation he has made. Gov. Lee shared that Jelly Roll’s story was “exceptional, redemptive, and highly effective, and that it was evident he ought to get a pardon.”
Jelly Roll has but to make an official assertion, however his authorized workforce launched an announcement to Billboard: “We will affirm Governor Invoice Lee granted a full pardon to Jelly Roll earlier immediately as a part of his introduced govt clemency choices.” Since his launch, Jelly Roll has remained incident-free and has used his platform to advocate for juveniles inside the justice system, visiting prisons throughout the nation to share messages of hope with incarcerated people.
This information comes simply days after Jelly Roll was invited to develop into the latest member of the Grand Ole Opry throughout an look on The Joe Rogan Expertise. Throughout the podcast, Jelly Roll revealed he was searching for a pardon and shared that he had been “praying” for a constructive consequence. He defined to Rogan, “Nicely, that is attention-grabbing. It is a slippery slope for me. I’m up for a pardon this 12 months. My paperwork has been despatched to my governor, and he considers pardons each December. So, daily, I’m simply type of praying.” Jelly Roll additionally expressed his perception that the state ought to supply a “path to redemption,” saying “I wish to go to them and go, ‘Look, I perceive in case you’ve ever raided any individual or killed any individual, however I believe that each … it ought to … there must be some path to redemption.’ Even when it takes 30 years.”
