Imagine spending 23 years, seven months, and eight days in prison for a crime you didn’t commit.

That’s what happened to Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez after he was wrongfully convicted of murder. But Velazquez didn’t despair. Instead, he discovered a new purpose — serving others.

After New York’s governor granted him clemency in 2021, Velazquez began sharing the lessons he’d learned while incarcerated with the outside world. One of those lessons is that all people — even those who are in prison— deserve to be treated with dignity and can change themselves for the better.

Velazquez now shares this lesson by facilitating conversations between individuals who are incarcerated and those on the outside, helping them bridge the divide between one another through their common humanity. These powerful connections make our nation’s communities stronger and safer by helping everyone involved understand and support one another.

Velazquez advances this vision daily through his work at the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice. As FDP’s program director, Velazquez helps lead its prison visitation program. FDP’s flagship effort, this initiative facilitates structured meetings and respectful conversations between members of free society and people who are incarcerated in America’s prisons. It’s an initiative that fosters learning, builds powerful human connections, and ignites mutual transformation by encouraging people to contribute to their communities. 

“How we prosper as a society — how we prosper as humanity — is by creating service through whatever talents we have, by whatever virtues we can offer,” Velazquez said.

Today, Velazquez argues that prison is an environment that benefits individuals who are incarcerated when more people support one another — and he has the experience to prove it.

Serving others: An opportunity in any circumstances

Velazquez’s life was upended in 1998, when retired New York Police Department Officer Albert Ward was murdered during an attempted robbery. Velazquez was mistakenly identified as one of Ward’s assailants and then convicted of murder despite ample evidence that he wasn’t involved. 

Velazquez was sentenced to 25–years–to life and then incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York. At that maximum-security prison, the people with whom he was incarcerated convinced him to become the best version of himself by aiding others. 

“They were people who were capable of making better choices — not only changing their lives but improving the quality of all of our lives by minimizing the crime and the violence,” he said of those he met in prison. 

Velazquez soon began to view Sing Sing as an environment he could transform. He became the chairman of Sing Sing’s Inmate Liaison Committee — the formal title then used by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision — serving as a bridge between individuals who were incarcerated and the prison’s administration. He promoted collaboration with the administration, which sparked broader changes. Velazquez said the collaboration reduced violence, infractions from those who were in prison, and long-term lockdowns.

The experience taught Velazquez how much he cares about assisting others.

“It’s our purpose on this Earth,” he said. “Whether we want to believe it or not. Instinctively, we’re designed to help each other.”

Serving others buoyed Velazquez during his time at Sing Sing. Outside, friends, family, and supporters dedicated themselves to clearing his name and ensuring he returned to freedom.

Rising from the roots

Velazquez insisted he was innocent during his incarceration. Over time, this steadfastness generated broad media and public backing. Velazquez’s grassroots support — and a reexamination of the evidence in his case — convinced then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to grant him clemency in 2021. Velazquez was fully exonerated over three years later. 

Sing Sing’s residents taught Velazquez that service not only benefits the people being helped, but also the person giving that help. Upon reentering society, he saw an opening to face challenges with the same approach.

“When we take the opportunity to believe in others and demonstrate that we believe in others — to show them that they are seen, to lean in and say, ‘I’m here for you’ — that’s the best thing anybody can do in any community,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez believes that treating everyone with dignity can alleviate problems such as homelessness, substance use disorder, and violence. This is because the more people understand each other, the more likely they are to find the common ground needed to solve these challenges.

He suggests that treating people who are incarcerated with understanding and compassion could net positive returns nationwide. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 600,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons each year. Assisting these individuals with self-improvement while they’re in prison could help them re-enter their communities peacefully and productively.

Velazquez also notes that America’s recidivism rate — defined as the percentage of individuals who are either re-arrested, re-convicted, or re-incarcerated after being released from prison — is high. Approximately 70% of people who were formerly incarcerated are re-arrested within five years of release, while almost half are re-incarcerated within five years.

“If crime and violence are issues in our society, then we should seek to communicate with these individuals,” Velazquez said of people who are in prison.

When it comes to humanizing people who are incarcerated, few spotlights shine brighter than FDP.