Tennessee Parole Board Recommends Governor Pardon Jelly Roll

The Tennessee Board of Parole recommended on Tuesday (April 22) that the state’s Governor consider pardoning Jelly Roll for his past convictions. According to the Associated Press, the board issued its nonbonding recommendation after voting unanimously on the move following a nearly two hour session that included testimony from Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall and several others.

Jelly Roll has long talked about the his remorse for the multiple arrests in his youth and the long road he’s taken to make amends, including frequently visiting jails and rehab centers before his shows. Following the board’s action, it is now up to Gov. Bill Lee to decide if the singer (born Jason DeFord) will be pardoned. The move could pave the way for the singer to travel internationally to perform, something he has not been able to do to date.

“This was incredible,” Jelly Roll said of the board’s decision. “I pray this goes through. But today was special for me, regardless.” During the board meeting, Jelly Roll described falling in love with songwriting while in detention, explaining, “It started as a passion project that felt therapeutic and would end up changing my life in ways that I never dreamed imaginable and opened doors that I’ve never thought possible.”

Jelly Roll, 40, was convicted on robbery charges at 17, when a female friend helped him and two other young men enter a house in 2002; both of the other men were armed, though Jelly Roll was not. They demanded money and got $350 and an empty wallet. Because the victims knew the woman and Jelly Roll, they were both arrested right away and he was sentenced to a year in prison. Then, in 2008, police found marijuana and crack cocaine in his car, which resulted in a sentence of eight years of court-ordered supervision. He has been jailed more than 40 times over the years for a variety of drug charges dating back to when he was 14.

Due to those incidents, and a number of other brushes with the law, until last year Jelly was unable to secure a passport in order to book shows outside of the U.S. due to legal restrictions on travel by former felons.

The parole board began considering Jelly Roll’s pardon application since Oct. 2024, which marked at least five years since his sentence expired.

Following Tuesday’s recommendation, Republican Gov. Lee told reporters that “the reporting on Jelly Roll, that’s encouraging for his situation, but there are steps yet to happen in that case.” A number of friends and civic leaders wrote to the board about Jelly Roll’s generosity and transformation to bolster his case, according to the AP.

Sheriff Hall — who runs Nashville’s jail — wrote in a note that Jelly Roll had an “awakening” in one of the jails he managed, while Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino wrote about the generous donations the singer has given to charities for at-risk youth.

Among the reasons Jelly Roll gave for needing the pardon was the current difficulty he faces traveling to Canada to perform due to his criminal record. Last June, Jelly booked his first-ever international shows when he scheduled gigs in Ontario and Ottawa. A week before announcing the shows, Jelly told Howard Stern that he had just gotten off the phone with his lawyer about the travel ban. “We are working … it’s getting good, it’s starting to look promising. It didn’t look good even just six months ago, but it’s starting to look really promising,” he said at the time.

Jelly told the board that he needs the pardon to be able to play more shows in Canada because currently he needs to apply for a special permit to travel north, which can sometimes be a lengthy process. “I want to be an inspiration for people who are now where I used to be — to let them know that change is truly possible,” Jelly told the board. “One of the reasons I’m asking for your recommendation for this pardon is because I’m looking to take my message of redemption through the power of music and faith through the rest of the world.”

He said that due to his criminal record, every time he travels it takes a “team of lawyers and a mountain of paperwork to secure my entry into those countries.” He noted last year’s inaugural Canadian shows, as well as his first trip to the U.K., where he traveled to speak about a rehab program.

Check out Hall’s post about the hearing below.

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