Jelly Roll wins support of Tennessee parole board as he fights to receive full pardon for convictions

Jelly Roll has gotten one step closer to receiving a full pardon for his previous convictions.

The Tennessee Board of Parole officially recommended the 40-year-old musician receive a full pardon following a 45-minute hearing which included statements from a number of witnesses, including Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall, who runs Nashville’s jail.

The hearing ended with a vote, in which the board reached a unanimous agreement to recommend the musician be pardoned, with only one board member recusing themselves from voting.

"This was incredible," Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, said after the vote, according to the board's recording of the meeting. "I pray this goes through. But today was special for me, regardless."

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The board's unanimous vote leaves the final decision in the hands of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

Jelly Roll has been very open about his struggles with the law, which include convictions for drug possession, drug dealing, shoplifting and aggravated robbery. He was first sent to a juvenile detention center at the age of 14 and later spent years going in and out of prison. 

"I don't know what I was even trying to be when I look back now," he admitted on Jay Shetty’s "On Purpose" podcast in October 2024 about committing armed robbery when he was 15 years old. "This is how I know I was 15 because the more when I try to make logic of it, I can't. There was no logic to what I did. It made absolutely no sense. And I learned so much from it and the way that I interact with people."

While in prison, Jelly Roll entered both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, got his GED and entered a Christian program which helped him reconnect with his faith on a much deeper level. 

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Since turning his life around, he broke out into the music industry in 2021 with his album "Ballad of the Broken," and continues to give back, often performing inside prisons and at rehabilitation centers, helping to feed homeless people, and donating money from his performances to at-risk youth.

"It started as a passion project that felt therapeutic and would end up changing my life in ways that I never dreamed imaginable and opened doors that I’ve never thought possible," he told the Tennessee parole board about how he began writing songs in prison.

Part of the reason the "Save Me" singer hopes to receive a pardon is to tour and continue helping people in need everywhere, saying, "I’ll still be using this same pardon, God willing, to go do missionary work in my 50s and 60s."

"I want to be an inspiration for people who are now where I used to be – to let them know that change is truly possible," Jelly Roll told the board. "One of the reasons I’m asking for your recommendation for this pardon is because I’m looking to take my message of redemption through the power of music and faith through the rest of the world."

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One of the reasons Jelly Roll gave for needing a pardon is to be able to travel to Canada to perform, which his criminal record makes difficult. Currently, he would need to apply for a special permit that can include long wait times for a decision, according to a letter from an immigration attorney submitted with his clemency packet.

Jelly Roll was recently able to tour Canada and also took his first trip to the United Kingdom, where he spoke about a rehabilitation program.

He told the board that while he was able to make these trips, it "takes a team of lawyers and a mountain of paperwork to secure my entry into those countries."

The parole board began considering Jelly Roll's pardon application in October 2024, which marks at least five years since his sentence expired.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.