Jelly Roll wins support of Tennessee parole board as he fights to receive full pardon for convictions

Jelly Roll has gotten one step closer to receiving a full pardon for his previous convictions The Tennessee Board of Parole officially recommended the -year-old musician receive a full pardon following a -minute hearing which included statements from a number of spectators including Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall who runs Nashville s jail The hearing ended with a vote in which the board reached a unanimous agreement to recommend the musician be pardoned with only one board member recusing themselves from voting This was incredible Jelly Roll whose real name is Jason DeFord reported after the vote according to the board's recording of the meeting I pray this goes through But in contemporary times was special for me regardless JELLY ROLL SHARES ONE HABIT THAT 'ANNOYS' WIFE BUNNIE XO 'TO NO END' 'I FEEL BAD FOR HER'The board's unanimous vote leaves the final decision in the hands of Tennessee Gov Bill Lee Jelly Roll has been very open about his struggles with the law which include convictions for drug possession drug dealing shoplifting and aggravated robbery He was first sent to a juvenile detention center at the age of and later spent years going in and out of prison I don't know what I was even trying to be when I look back now he admitted on Jay Shetty s On Purpose podcast in October about committing armed robbery when he was years old This is how I know I was because the more when I try to make logic of it I can't There was no logic to what I did It made absolutely no sense And I learned so much from it and the way that I interact with people While in prison Jelly Roll entered both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous got his GED and entered a Christian initiative which helped him reconnect with his faith on a much deeper level LIKE WHAT YOU RE READING CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSSince turning his life around he broke out into the music industry in with his album Ballad of the Broken and continues to give back often performing inside prisons and at rehabilitation centers helping to feed homeless people and donating money from his performances to at-risk youth It started as a passion project that felt therapeutic and would end up changing my life in tactics that I never dreamed imaginable and opened doors that I ve never thought achievable he notified the Tennessee parole board about how he began writing songs in prison Part of the reason the Save Me singer hopes to receive a pardon is to tour and continue helping people in need everywhere saying I ll still be using this same pardon God willing to go do missionary work in my s and s I want to be an inspiration for people who are now where I used to be to let them know that change is truly accomplishable Jelly Roll stated 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 CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTEROne of the reasons Jelly Roll gave for needing a pardon is to be able to advance to Canada to perform which his criminal record makes complex Currently he would need to apply for a special permit that can include long wait times for a decision according to a letter from an immigration attorney submitted with his clemency packet Jelly Roll was in recent weeks able to tour Canada and also took his first trip to the United Kingdom where he spoke about a rehabilitation project He reported the board that while he was able to make these trips it takes a group of lawyers and a mountain of paperwork to secure my entry into those countries The parole board began considering Jelly Roll's pardon application in October which marks at least five years since his sentence expired The Associated Press contributed to this account