Jelly Roll receives pardon from Tennessee governor for drug and robbery convictions – National

Tennessee's governor on Thursday pardoned country singer Jelly Roll, who had a criminal record in the state.

Gov. Bill Lee pardoned singer “Need a Favor” for two felony robbery and drug charges committed before 2010 in Davidson County.

Jerry Rolle said the pardon would make it easier for people to travel abroad for concert tours and do Christian missionary work without having to fill out paperwork. He previously said that every time he traveled to countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom, he needed “a team of lawyers and mountains of paperwork to secure entry.”

He was one of 33 people pardoned on Thursday by Lee, who has been issuing clemency decisions during the Christmas season for years.

Lee said Jerry Rolle's application, like all applicants, underwent a thorough review over several months, and the state parole board recommended Jerry Rolle's pardon in a unanimous, non-binding decision in April after a hearing that lasted about an hour and 45 minutes and featured several witnesses, including Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall.

“His story is remarkable, it's a powerful story of redemption, and that's what people are looking for and hoping for,” Lee told reporters.

Hall, who manages Nashville's prisons, wrote that he woke up in one of the prisons that Jerry Roll was managing.

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“I think he has a chance and is in the process of rebuilding a generation. It's not just words,” Hall told The Associated Press on Thursday. “What I'm talking about is what we need in this country: people who accept responsibility, accept the fact that they make mistakes, accept the fact that they need help.”

A pardon in Tennessee serves as a statement of forgiveness for someone who has already served their sentence. Pardons provide a path to restoring certain civil rights, such as the right to vote, with some legal limitations, and the governor can specify conditions.

Jelly Roll's most serious convictions include a 17-year-old robbery and a 23-year-old drug charge. In the first case, in 2002, a female acquaintance helped Jelly Roll and two armed accomplices steal $350 from people in the house. Since the victims were acquaintances of a female acquaintance, Jelly Roll and Jelly Roll were quickly arrested. Jelly Roll was unarmed and sentenced to one year in prison, suspended.

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In 2008, police found marijuana and crack cocaine in his car and he was sentenced to eight years of court-ordered supervision.

He also faces two misdemeanor counts of driving without a license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The rapper-turned-singer, whose real name is Jason Deford, has spoken about his redemption story over the years to audiences as diverse as people serving time in correctional facilities, concert audiences and even Congress.

Last year, the Somebody Save Me singer gave powerful testimony before Congress about America's fentanyl problem, telling lawmakers he wanted to be “part of the solution” to the opioid crisis.

“Every time I perform, I witness the heartbreaking effects of fentanyl. I see fans grappling with this tragedy in the form of music… They seek solace in music and hope that what they went through will not befall others,” he said at the time.

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Rapper Jelly Roll shares compelling testimony against fentanyl in US Senate

“My friends, these are the people I'm here to represent. These are the people who crave reassurance that the officials they elect actually care about human lives more than ideology or partisanship.”

— With files from The Associated Press

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