Tennessee governor pardons country star Jelly Roll, who has sought redemption from criminal past
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — TennesseeGovernor pardons country star Jelly Roll for him on Thursday criminal history state, acknowledges the Nashville native’s long path from drugs and prison through soul-searching, songwriting and advocating for second chances.
The rapper-turned-singer, whose legal name is Jason Deford, has been speaking about his redemption story in front of various audiences for years. people spending time to draw crowds to concerts in correctional facilities and even to testify before Congress.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee issued the pardon after a gathering of the Grammy-nominated musician’s friends and civic leaders. spread of support.
Jelly Roll’s convictions include robbery and drug offenses. He said the pardon would make it easier for him to travel internationally for concert tours and carry out Christian missionary activities without requiring burdensome paperwork.
He was one of 33 people who received pardons on Thursday from Lee, who has been issuing pardons during the Christmas season for years. Jelly Roll’s application went through the same months of extensive review as other applicants, Lee said. The state’s parole board issued a nonbinding, unanimous recommendation in April that Jelly Roll be pardoned.
“His story is a remarkable and redemptive, powerful story; that’s what you’re looking for and what you hope for,” Lee told reporters. said Lee, adding that he hopes to meet Jelly Roll for the first time soon.
Unlike recent times high-profile federal pardonsTennessee pardons, which free people from prison, serve as a declaration of pardon for someone who has completed a prison sentence. Pardons offer a way to restore certain civil rights, such as the right to vote, although there are some legal limitations and the governor can set the terms.
Jelly Roll broke into country music with the 2023 album “Whitsitt Chapel” and crossover songs like “Need a Favor.” it exists won multiple CMT Awardshas received a CMA Award as well as seven career Grammy nominations.
Much of his music is about overcoming adversity, such as the song “Winning Streak” about someone’s first day sober. Or directly and directly “I’m No Good.”
“When I first started doing this, I was just telling the story of my broken self,” he told the Associated Press. in an interview. “When I got through this, I realized that my story is the story of many people. That’s why I’m not telling my story anymore. I’m going to pull it from the cracks of people whose stories have never been told.”
Before the parole board, Jelly Roll said he first fell in love with songwriting while in custody, describing music as a therapeutic passion project that would “change my life in ways I could never have imagined.”
He testified before, except for sold-out shows. US Senate On the dangers of fentanyl, he describes his younger drug-dealing self as “the uneducated guy in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about.”
“I was part of the problem,” he told MPs at the time. “I am now here as a man who wants to be part of the solution,” he said.
Jelly Roll’s most serious convictions include a robbery at 17 and drug charges at 23. In the first case, a female acquaintance helped Jelly Roll and two armed accomplices steal $350 from people at a home in 2002. He and Jelly Roll were quickly arrested because the victims knew their female acquaintances. Jelly Roll was unarmed and sentenced to one year in prison plus probation.
In another incident in 2008, police found marijuana and crack cocaine in his car, leading to eight years of court-ordered probation.
Friends and civic leaders spoke of his transformation while supporting the pardon.
Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, who runs the Nashville jail, wrote that he woke up in one of the jails Jelly Roll ran. Live Nation Entertainment CEO and President Michael Rapino touched on Jelly Roll’s donations from his performances to charities for at-risk youth.
“I think he has a chance and he’s in the process of rehabilitating a generation, and it’s not just about words,” Hall said in a phone interview Thursday. “I’m talking about what we need in our country, people accepting responsibility, accepting the fact that they made mistakes and they need help.”
The parole board began considering Jelly Roll’s pardon application in October 2024; This marks the state’s five-year eligibility timeline after the end of his sentence. Prominent Nashville attorney David Raybin represented Jelly Roll in the pardon case.
Lee’s office said Thursday that pardons are not granted to anyone who commits murder, has a sex-related conviction or is pardoned as an adult for any crime committed against a minor.
