{"id":32900,"date":"2024-03-26T12:26:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T16:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/?p=32900"},"modified":"2024-03-26T12:49:15","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T16:49:15","slug":"23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"590\" height=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg\" alt=\"A man in a grey suit holds a microphone as he speaks on a stage.\" class=\"wp-image-32901\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg 590w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624-500x331.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jon-Adrian &#8220;JJ&#8221; Velazquez speaks at a Stetson Law Innocence Initiative event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A young father of an infant and a toddler, <strong>Jon-Adrian \u201cJJ\u201d Velazquez<\/strong> walked into a New York City police station in 1999 thinking he was helping solve a murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His father, who had died recently, had been a police officer and Velazquez trusted the system. Plus, he was on the other side of town when the crime occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was the last choice I made as a free man,\u201d Velazquez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What ensued were more than two decades in prison fighting his incarceration at Sing Sing Correctional Facility \u2013 and not knowing if he would ever experience freedom again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform, Velazquez spoke March 18 at Stetson Law at an event relaunching the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/law\/campus-life\/innocence-initiative.php\">Stetson Law Innocence Initiative<\/a>, a student organization guided by Professor <strong>Judith Scully<\/strong>, co-director of Stetson Law\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/law\/academics\/home\/social-justice-advocacy-concentration.php\">Social Justice Advocacy Concentration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A woman leans into a microphone at a podium in front of a screen that says &quot;Presidential Forum with Joe Biden.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-32903\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-1320x880.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Law Professor Judith Scully introduces speaker JJ Velazquez.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scully said that conservative estimates place the number of wrongfully incarcerated individuals in the U.S. between 30,000 and 170,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMany people in prison are innocent and they are locked up behind bars,\u201d Scully said. \u201cAs part of the legal profession, we are responsible for addressing this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Harrowing experience inspires action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sentenced to 25 years to life, Velazquez <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freejonadrianvelazquez.org\/\">never stopped fighting for his freedom<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early on in his sentence, his fight led him to contact Dan Slepian, an investigative journalist whose work has helped overturn multiple wrongful convictions. Slepian\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnewyork.com\/entertainment\/entertainment-news\/letters-from-sing-sing-jon-adrian-velazquez-investigation\/4117740\/\">work ultimately helped prove Velazquez\u2019s innocence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, it took years for Velazquez\u2019s clemency application to receive the governor\u2019s signature \u2013 it was one of the last things outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed before he left office. On August 17, 2021, after nearly 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Velazquez was granted clemency. On September 9, 2021, he was released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His efforts to fight the systemic issue of wrongful incarceration \u2013 beyond just his own \u2013 began when he was still behind bars with projects like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voicesfromwithin.org\/\">Voices from Within<\/a>, a multimedia initiative that explores the criminal justice system from the perspective of the incarcerated. As national program director for the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice, he now advocates for criminal justice reform \u2013 a mission that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mJ11x0M4NvQ\">brought him to the Oval Office<\/a> not long after he left Sing Sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI feel like I was placed in prison for a purpose,\u201d Velazquez said. \u201cAnd while I\u2019d never raise my hand and volunteer to do that time all over again, I won\u2019t change what happened, either. What I\u2019ve learned is instrumental to help change this country in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advice for students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calling wrongful conviction \u201cthe worst nightmare any person in this world can face,\u201d Velazquez said such occurrences do not only affect individuals incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, but also families and entire communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll of us, in some way, form or fashion, help each other get through the day,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when you start taking those members out of the community, what you\u2019re doing is fracturing your community. And if you fracture it enough, it can break.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While advocating for systemic change is critical, Velazquez said law students should look to their own work as they seek to transform society \u2013 and practice things like listening to their own instincts when defending a client or, as prosecutors, not letting the pursuit of convictions get in the way of doing what is right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re amenable to peer pressure. We\u2019re amenable to whatever society believes success is,\u201d Velazquez said. \u201cAs lawyers, don\u2019t allow a culture to change who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-3-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Students seated at table watch a video of a man speaking on a screen.\" class=\"wp-image-32904\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-3-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazquez-Innocence-Initiative-3-1320x880.jpg 1320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wrongfully incarcerated for nearly 24 years, Jon-Adrian &#8220;JJ&#8221; Velazquez has been telling his story to national media outlets &#8211; and even the President of the United States.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This event was a joint effort between the Innocence Initiative and the Social Justice Advocacy Concentration program. It was made possible with the support of Stetson Law\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/law\/academics\/advocacy\/home\/\">Center for Excellence in Advocacy<\/a>.&nbsp;The student organizations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/law\/campus-life\/flap.php\">Future Lawyers for Advocacy and Philanthropy (FLAP)<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/law\/campus-life\/public-service-fellows.php\">Public Service Fellows<\/a> also co-sponsored the event.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn more about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/law\/campus-life\/innocence-initiative.php\">Innocence Initiative at Stetson Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freejonadrianvelazquez.org\/jon-adrian-today.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about Jon-Adrian \u201cJJ\u201d Velazquez<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A young father of an infant and a toddler, Jon-Adrian \u201cJJ\u201d Velazquez walked into a New York City police station in 1999 thinking he was helping solve a murder. His father, who had died recently, had been a police officer and Velazquez trusted the system. Plus, he was on the other side of town when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":32901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2001,577,3],"tags":[1396,99,2600,1933,2603,2631,1288,1777,196],"class_list":["post-32900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life-news","category-events","category-news-1","tag-innocence-initiative","tag-judith-scully","tag-lawportal-home-bottom","tag-news","tag-news-and-stories","tag-news-top","tag-social-justice","tag-social-justice-advocacy-concentration-program","tag-wrongful-convictions"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform - Stetson Law News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform - Stetson Law News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A young father of an infant and a toddler, Jon-Adrian \u201cJJ\u201d Velazquez walked into a New York City police station in 1999 thinking he was helping solve a murder. His father, who had died recently, had been a police officer and Velazquez trusted the system. Plus, he was on the other side of town when [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stetson Law News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-26T16:26:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-26T16:49:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"391\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate Bradshaw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate Bradshaw\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kate Bradshaw\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b963223d264276de2da9021df0d7008a\"},\"headline\":\"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-26T16:26:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-26T16:49:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":705,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Innocence Initiative\",\"Judith Scully\",\"lawportal-home-bottom\",\"News\",\"news-and-stories\",\"news-top\",\"social justice\",\"Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program\",\"wrongful convictions\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campus Life News\",\"Events\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/\",\"name\":\"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform - Stetson Law News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-26T16:26:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-26T16:49:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b963223d264276de2da9021df0d7008a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg\",\"width\":590,\"height\":391,\"caption\":\"Jon-Adrian \\\"JJ\\\" Velazquez speaks at a Stetson Law Innocence Initiative event.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stetson Law News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b963223d264276de2da9021df0d7008a\",\"name\":\"Kate Bradshaw\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www2.stetson.edu\\\/law\\\/news\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/kbradshaw\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform - Stetson Law News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform - Stetson Law News","og_description":"A young father of an infant and a toddler, Jon-Adrian \u201cJJ\u201d Velazquez walked into a New York City police station in 1999 thinking he was helping solve a murder. His father, who had died recently, had been a police officer and Velazquez trusted the system. Plus, he was on the other side of town when [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/","og_site_name":"Stetson Law News","article_published_time":"2024-03-26T16:26:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-26T16:49:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":590,"height":391,"url":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kate Bradshaw","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate Bradshaw","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/"},"author":{"name":"Kate Bradshaw","@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b963223d264276de2da9021df0d7008a"},"headline":"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform","datePublished":"2024-03-26T16:26:33+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-26T16:49:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/"},"wordCount":705,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg","keywords":["Innocence Initiative","Judith Scully","lawportal-home-bottom","News","news-and-stories","news-top","social justice","Social Justice Advocacy Concentration Program","wrongful convictions"],"articleSection":["Campus Life News","Events","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/","url":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/","name":"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform - Stetson Law News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-26T16:26:33+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-26T16:49:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b963223d264276de2da9021df0d7008a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/JJ-Velazques-News-Image-032624.jpg","width":590,"height":391,"caption":"Jon-Adrian \"JJ\" Velazquez speaks at a Stetson Law Innocence Initiative event."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/03\/26\/23-years-falsely-convicted-jj-velazquez-urges-reform\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"23 Years Falsely Convicted, JJ Velazquez Urges Reform"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/","name":"Stetson Law News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b963223d264276de2da9021df0d7008a","name":"Kate Bradshaw","url":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/author\/kbradshaw\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32900"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32908,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32900\/revisions\/32908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}