Nashville, Tennessee (AP) – The Tennessee Conditional Liberation Council recommended forgiveness on Tuesday for Country music starOriginally from Nashville who openly talked about his criminal record and what it took to overcome it. The action of the Council leaves the final decision on forgiveness to Governor Bill Lee.
The rapper who has become the country’s singer wants to be able to travel internationally to play and share his redemption message, after spending time behind bars as a youngster.
The Board of Directors published its non -binding recommendation unanimously after an audience that lasted approximately an hour and 45 minutes with several witnesses, including the sheriff of Nashville Daron Hall, pleading for the 40 -year -old musician named Jason Deford. A member of the Board of Directors has challenged the vote.
Jelly Roll burst into country music with the 2023 album “Whitsitt Chapel” and crossover songs like “Need a favor”. He has won several CMT pricesA CMA prize and won four nominations in Grammy, including the new artist of the year.
“It was incredible,” he said about the decision of the board of directors. “I pray that it happens. But today, it was special for me, despite everything. ”
His most serious convictions include a flight at the age of 17 and drug charges at 23. In the first case, female knowledge helped roll the jelly and two other young men entered a house in 2002. The other two wore firearms, although Jelly Roll was not armed. They asked for money and received $ 350 and a wallet without money. Because the victims knew female knowledge, she and Jelly Roll were arrested immediately. He was sentenced to purge a year in prison and an additional period in probation.
Later, in 2008, Patrol’s police found both marijuana and crack in his car. He was sentenced to eight years of surveillance ordered by the court.
He also has two offenses for offense for driving without a license and possession of drug accessories.
Lee, a republican, said that each case seeking leniency, such as pardons, is just as important and goes through an in -depth process.
“The report on Jelly Roll is encouraging for her situation, but there are still steps in this case,” he told journalists on Tuesday.
Jelly Roll said on the board that in a detention center, he fell in love with writing songs. “It started as a passionate project that felt therapeutic and would end up changing my life in a way that I have never dreamed of imaginable and open doors that I never thought possible.”
These days, he often visits prisons and rehabilitation centers before playing concerts. He bought restaurants for the day to feed homeless people and played basketball with children in a youth center the same day he played in Winnipeg. He said he was generally not looking for media coverage when he made these visits.
As part of the request for forgiveness, civic friends and leaders wrote to the board of directors of Jelly Roll’s transformation and generosity. Hall, who heads Nashville’s prison, wrote that Jelly Roll had an alarm clock in one of the prisons he managed. The CEO and president of Live Nation Entertainment and President Michael Rapino also wrote in his favor, highlighting all the money he gave his performances to charities for young people at risk.
One of the reasons for which Jelly Roll has given for forgiveness is to be able to go to Canada to play, which his criminal record makes it difficult. Currently, he should request a special permit which can include long waiting times for a decision, according to a letter from an immigration lawyer submitted with his Clémence package.
“I want to be an inspiration for people who are now where I was – to let them know that change is really possible,” Jelly Roll told the board of directors. “One of the reasons why I ask for your recommendation for this forgiveness is that I am trying to take my message of redemption through the power of music and faith through the rest of the world.”
He said he would use forgiveness for much more than going on tour.
“I will always use this same forgiveness, God wants to do missionary work in the fifties and 60 years,” he said.
Due to his criminal record, he told the board of directors that each time he travels, “takes a team of lawyers and a mountain of documents to secure my entry into these countries”. He said he had recently been able to do his first tour in Canada and had his first trip to the United Kingdom, where he spoke of a rehabilitation program.
The Conditional Liberations Commission began to consider Jelly Roll’s demand for forgiveness in October 2024, which has marked at least five years since the expiration of his sentence.
Lee has issued more than 90 pardons Since its entry into office in 2019, all since 2021.
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The writer Associated Press Kristin Mr. Hall contributed from Nashville.
