Jelly Roll has been granted a pardon for his past crimes by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
From the time he was 14 until he was 24, the country and rap star cycled in and out of juvenile and then adult correctional facilities in Nashville for crimes ranging from aggravated robbery to drug dealing.
Gov. Lee granted executive clemency to 33 individuals on Thursday (Dec. 18), according to a press release issued by his office. The release confirmed Jelly Roll’s pardon, stating that “pardons are granted to individuals who have completed their sentences and have been living freely in their communities for at least five years.”
While Jelly Roll has not yet spoken out, his attorneys, David Raybin and Ben Raybin of Raybin & Weissman, released a statement, saying, “We can confirm Governor Bill Lee granted a full pardon to Jelly Roll earlier today as part of his announced executive clemency decisions.”
The pardon has been in the works for quite some time. More than a year ago, Davidson Country Sheriff Daron Hall recommended to Lee that Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Deford, receive a pardon and the request had been on the Governor’s desk, according to local Nashville television station WSMV.
In a June 2023 Billboard cover story, Jelly Roll said, “A pardon would change my whole life,” adding that he would only accept it if it came with a change of policy for currently incarcerated youth. “Maybe we’re disciplining an age group that should be rehabilitated. I just want to have that conversation, and if it can end in a pardon, f–king let’s go.” It is unclear if there was any change of policy accompanying the pardon.
In Tennessee, a pardon generally restores a number of rights that had been revoked, including the right to vote, serve on a jury, hold public office and own a handgun. Though some felons are unable to carry a passport, Jelly Roll received one a number of years ago and toured internationally for the first time recently.
Jelly Roll has advocated for reform and spends much of his time visiting youth and adult prisons, including raising funds to build a recording studio in the same juvenile detention center he spent time. He says being charged and convicted as an adult when he was 16 for aggravated robbery left a lingering impact on his life long after he served his time. The avid golfer tried to buy a house in a community with its own course not long ago and was rejected.
Jelly Roll’s music has often addressed his troubled past and his search for redemption in such songs as “Save Me,” where he sings, “I’m a lost cause/Baby don’t waste your time on me/I’m so damaged beyond repair/Life has shattered my hopes and dreams.” Jelly Roll has earned six top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and nabbed a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 in 2024 with Beautifully Broken.
It’s been a big month for Jelly Roll, who was also invited to join the Grand Ole Opry Dec. 10.
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