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JJ  Velazquez

JJ Velazquez

Criminal Legal Reform Activist

JJ Velazquez

Criminal Legal Reform Activist

Biography

Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez’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 New York State’s 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 specializes in storytelling, which stems from his passion to turn trauma into triumph and inspires 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.

He provides media platforms with valuable context and rare insight. These insights are 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.

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 of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice.

Speaker Videos

New York judge exonerates man wrongfully convicted of murder

The Never-Ending Impact of Incarceration

Jon-Adrian 'JJ' Velazquez, Criminal Legal Reform

Incarcerated man’s decades-long journey to freedom chronicled in NBC News podcast

How a prisoner's letter led to a 20-year search for the truth

The C.H.O.I.C.E.S Connection | Jon-Adrian Velazquez | TEDxSingSing

Joe Biden and JJ Velazquez Discuss Criminal Legal Reform

Speech Topics

Building Bridges in Unlikely Places: A Friendship Forged Through Adversity

Get ready to be inspired and reminded that hope and compassion still thrive in this powerful talk by JJ Velazquez, a criminal legal reform activist who was wrongfully convicted as the shooter in the murder of a retired police officer. In this keynote, JJ discusses his extraordinary friendship with Dan Slepian, veteran producer of Dateline, and how it challenged Dan’s perceptions and ignited a lifelong mission to fight for justice. The pair’s bond evolved over two decades, leading Dan to several other innocent men he told stories about. It’s a narrative about building trust, understanding and a lasting friendship in the most unlikely of places—inside the walls of prison.

An Evening with JJ

JJ Velazquez, a criminal legal reform activist who was wrongfully convicted as the shooter in the murder of a retired police officer, 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. He 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.

Testimonials