Sing Sing actor exonerated of murder after nearly 24 years in prison

'This isn't a celebration. This is an indictment of the system,' said Jon-Adrian Velazquez outside the courthouse

NEW YORK — After serving nearly 24 years in prison before being granted clemency and starring in last year’s movie Sing Sing, Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez has officially been exonerated of a murder prosecutors now say he didn’t commit.

A Manhattan judge on Monday vacated the 48-year-old’s wrongful conviction in the killing of retired New York City police officer Albert Ward during a robbery in 1998, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office announced. The order came after Bragg’s office joined in Velazquez’s request to vacate the conviction.