Name Jon-Adrian Velazquez | ||
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Jon adrian velazquez
Jon-Adrian Velazquez is an inmate in the maximum security Sing-Sing prison in New York who is serving a 25-year sentence after being convicted of the 1998 murder of a retired police officer. His case garnered considerable attention from the media ten years after his conviction, due to a visit and support from Martin Sheen and a long-term investigation by Dateline NBC producer Dan Slepian.
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The murder
Retired NYPD officer Albert Ward was murdered during an attempted robbery of an illegal gambling establishment in Harlem, New York on January 27, 1998. Ward was involved in the running of the establishment at the time. Witnesses initially claimed that the two assailants were both black, and that the shooter was a black man with braids. Velazquez is Latino and had short hair at the time.
Dateline NBC investigation
Beginning around 2002, Velazquez wrote letters to Dateline producer Dan Slepian, after hearing about another one of Slepian's documentaries that resulted in getting another conviction overturned. Dateline producers began an investigation that lasted ten years, tracking down and interviewing witnesses and others involved in the case.
Velazquez contends that he was speaking on the phone with his mother at the time of the murder, a claim that is supported by phone records showing a call between Velazquez's residence and his mother. The prosecution contended that it was his girlfriend on the phone at the time. One witness who testified in court incorrectly identified a juror instead of Velazquez when asked to point out the perpetrator. Other witnesses were a heroin addict and his drug dealer. Velazquez was initially identified in the case by presenting one of the witnesses with hundreds of images of people previously convicted of unrelated crimes.
The broadcast about Velazquez's case aired nationally on NBC on February 12, 2012 and was nominated for three Emmy awards.
The broadcast sparked a review of Velazquez's case by the Manhattan District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit. On April 5, 2013, the unit decided to let the conviction stand. In response to the DA's unwillingness to further pursue his bid for innocence, on May 2, 2013 his legal council officially files a motion 440 with the court in New York City.
On December 5, 2014, Velazquez 440 motion—his request to have a hearing—was denied. He has appealed .http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/ive-been-dragged-through-gates-hell-says-man-jailed-murder-n272071
Jon-Adrian in the Media
Jon-Adrian has many dedicated followers who maintain web presences on both Facebook at
and his own website at: http://www.freejonadrianvelazquez.org/ The maintainers regularly post news and information there.